BAGHDAD, Jan. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Insurgents waged attacks on Iraqi security forces in Baquba, about 65 km northeast of Baghdad, on Sunday, killing nine Iraqis, a statement from the Iraqi-US liaison office in Diyala said.

    "A roadside bomb attack in Baquba targeting an Iraqi police patrol killed four policemen and wounded nine others," said the statement, obtained by Xinhua from the Joint Coordination Centerin Diyala.

    In a separate incident, unknown armed men attacked with rockets a house of a policeman in Baladroz town near Baquba, killing his brother and four children and wounding the policeman's wife, the statement said.

    It also said the Iraqi security forces defused three other bombs in different areas in Diyala province.

    Insurgents often attack Iraqi government employees and security forces in an attempt to cripple the US-backed political process in the country. Enditem