Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and another was wounded in three separate attacks in the volatile province of Diyala on Saturday, a provincial police source said.

    "Two policemen were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on their patrol in the al-Zanbour village in the al-Khalis town, 60 km northeast of Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    In another incident, two civilians were killed when several mortar rounds struck the al-Dulab village in the al-Miqdadiyah town, some 100 km northeast of the capital, the source said.

    Several houses were also damaged by the attack.

    In addition, a police man was critically wounded when gunmen opened fire on him in the town of Baladruz, some 75 km northeast of Baghdad, he added.

    Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border to the east, has been the hot bed of insurgency and sectarian violence since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.