Five people, including three traffic policemen, were killed in a series of insurgent attacks in the volatile province of Diyala northeast of Baghdad on Saturday, police said.

In one incident, "unknown gunmen shot dead three traffic policemen while they were on duty on an intersection in the center of Baquba city," said a provincial police statement obtained by Xinhua.

In a separate incident, two civilians were shot dead by unknown gunmen in Abu Sieda area near the Maqdadiyah town, some 100 km northeast of Baghdad, the statement said.

Meanwhile, unidentified armed men opened fire at two civilians in Mu'alimien neighborhood in the western part of Baquba, the provincial capital of Diyala province, it added.

Diyala province, located within Iraq's so-called Sunni Triangle, is a bastion of sectarian violence and relentless insurgency against the U.S.-led occupation.

Source: Xinhua