Police killed as violence continues in Iraq

At least 10 policemen have been killed after unidentified gunmen attacked a police station in the Iraqi city of Rawah, northwest of Baghdad, police officials say.

The attack took place on Sunday evening in the city, located about 320km northwest of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.

The base commander was among those killed, a police source told Al Jazeera.

Qais al-Rawi, the head of the area’s local council, meanwhile, said that gunmen had killed and wounded the police officers in an attack on their station, and that they also assaulted and set fire to an army position.

There were 15 soldiers and an officer at the position, Rawi said, and their fate is unknown.

There have been a number of attacks in recent weeks on security forces in Anbar province, home to Ramadi and Fallujah, two centres of Sunni protests that broke out almost five months ago.

Up to 10 people were kidnapped in Anbar on Saturday, according to security officials.

Tensions between the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia Muslim, and Iraqi Sunni Muslims, have been running high in recent months, with the latter accusing authorities of marginalising and targeting their community.

The government has made some concessions, such as freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of Sunni anti-Al-Qaeda fighters, but protests against Maliki’s government have persisted.