Iraqi officials: Gunmen kill 5 policemen in attack on checkpoint south of Baghdad

BAGHDAD – Iraqi officials say gunmen have killed five policemen in an attack on a checkpoint south of Baghdad.

Two police officers say the gunmen stormed into a trailer where the policemen were sleeping next to the checkpoint in the district of Jisr Diyala.

The officers say the attack happened at dawn Thursday. The policemen were providing security for a nearby oil pipeline.

A doctor in a nearby hospital confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Although violence in Iraq has ebbed considerably since the height of the insurgency some years ago, militants are still capable of launching deadly attacks against security forces, government officials and civilians.