A suicide car bomb hit on Monday an Iraqi police patrol in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, killing two policemen and wounding 12 others, and US forces shot dead a fire engine driver, police said.

"Three police vehicles chased a suspected car at about 11:20 a. m. (0720 GMT) in northern Tikrit, but its driver detonated his explosive-laden vehicle as they came closer, killing two police officers and wounding 12 other people, including five policemen," a police colonel told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

US and Iraqi forces cordoned off the area as ambulances took the victims to hospital in the city, some 170 km north of Baghdad, he said.

Meanwhile, US forces opened fire at a fire engine which rushed to the scene, with its driver being shot in the head, after US soldiers suspected him as another suicide bomber.

Earlier in the day, a suicide car bomb hit an Iraqi security force patrol in the northern city of Samarra, wounding 10 people.

Insurgents have mounted suicide car bomb attacks against Iraqi security forces to try to cripple the Iraqi government.

Source: Xinhua