Baghdad - An attack on a police patrol and members of the Sunni Iraqi Awakening Councils on Wednesday evening has claimed 28 lives, hospital reports stated on Thursday. The ambush targeted the police patrol on Wednesday evening near al- Dalimat village in Diyala province, 57 kilometres north-east of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Eleven of the dead were members of the Awakening Councils, a Sunni group that, allied with the US, has helped reduce violence in Iraq.
Sources said that the attackers killed a policeman before opening fire on the patrol.
Police published a statement blaming al-Qaeda for the attack.
Two high-ranking officials were also among the dead.
The restive Diyala province has witnessed a military crackdown since July, aiming to stem militant violence in the province.
Meanwhile, US forces said two of its soldiers
