Iraqi Police Patrols Targeted By Snipers

Police in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk came under insurgent sniper attack Tuesday that killed four officers and injured five others.

In Kirkuk, one officer was killed and three others were wounded, while the Baghdad ambush killed three policemen and injured two others, Alsumaria reported.

Baghdad police said a roadside bomb in northern Baghdad also targeted a van carrying Ministry of Industry employees. Two people died and six others were injured by the explosion.

Security officials said a rocket shell landed in a residential Shiite part of Baghdad. Nine people were injured, CNN reported.

Elsewhere, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, made a surprise visit to Ramadi Tuesday and met with Sunni tribal leaders about routing al-Qaida guerillas and Sunni insurgents from the city 68 miles west of Baghdad. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province and has become a hotbed of insurgent activity.