BAGHDAD, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen shot dead a policeman, his wife, and his son on Wednesday in a village in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a security source said.
The attack occurred at about 4:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) when armed men broke into the house of the policeman and opened fire on the family members in the village of al-Tahweila near the town of Khalis, some 70 km northeast of Baghdad, Captain Ahmed al-Zeheiri from Diyala Provincial Police, told Xinhua.
The youngest son of the policeman escaped the attack with wounds, al-Zeheiri said.
The attackers set fire to the house and animal barn before fleeing, he said, adding that the security forces imposed strict security measures in the area and launched an investigation into the incident to identify the gunmen.
Meanwhile, an anonymous security source told Xinhua that the policeman's house is located in a relatively stable area away from the hotspots in the province that are still suffering from activities of the Islamic State (IS) militants.
Diyala has often witnessed deadly attacks targeting residential areas with various motives from personal and sectarian revenge, to terrorist attacks by the IS group against security forces and civilians. ■
