Baghdad: A curfew was imposed on the western Iraqi city of Ramadi Friday after Al Qaeda militants launched a pre-dawn breakout from a police station in the city, triggering a shoot-out that left 14 people dead.

During an exchange of fire between prisoners trying to escape and police officers in the station, seven policemen and seven prisoners were killed, al-Arabiya news channel quoted provincial police chief Tareq al-Dulaimi as saying.

Three prisoners managed to flee but one was re-arrested, al-Dulaimi said.

He added that another four policemen were wounded in the shoot-out at Forsan police station in the centre of Ramadi.

The predominantly Sunni Arab city of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, was a safe haven for al-Qaeda insurgents in Iraq following the US-led invasion of the country in 2003 and the toppling of former leader Saddam Hussein.

But since 2006, local Sunni tribesmen backed by the US military have fought Al Qaeda and were able to push them out of the region.

In September, Anbar became the 11th province to be handed back to Iraqi control.

 

Source : IANS