Al Qaida gunmen kill dozens of Iraqi policemen
[September 25 2008] 

<p>Gunmen thought to be affiliated with Al Qaida in Iraq ambushed and killed 27 Iraqi policemen and eight anti-Qaida fighters near Baqouba on Wednesday, police and hospital officials said. Among those killed were three high-ranking officers whom gunmen captured and executed, officials said. Four other policemen were injured. The ambush took place Wednesday afternoon as an Iraqi police battalion of about 300, along with a group of anti-Qaida fighters, patrolled a village south of Khan Bani Saad in Diyala province, 15 miles south of Baqouba  Police said the battalion entered the village thinking it was safe because the area had recently been raided and cleared.