DIYALA, Iraq, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi civilian was killed and four people, including two policemen, were injured in three separate incidents in the volatile Iraqi province of Diyala Monday, a provincial police source said.

    A 18-year-old young man was killed when unknown gunmen showered him with bullets near al-Khalis town, some 75 km northeast of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    Iraqi security forces rushed to the scene and immediately launched a search operation seeking for the attackers, he added.

    Separately, two policemen were wounded by a roadside bomb near their police vehicle while they were patrolling in the town of Khanaqeen, some 70 km northeast of Baghdad, he said.

    In another incident, two civilians were injured when a hand grenade, thrown by unknown armed man on a U.S. patrol, missed its target and exploded near a residential house in Jalawla town, 90 km northeast of Baghdad, he added.

    U.S. military did not comment about the incident yet.

    Diyala, including its capital Baquba, has long been the hotbed of insurgency since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, despite the ongoing security crackdown in the province conducted by U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces.

Special Report: Tension escalates in Iraq