Insurgents launched multiple attacks on Iraqi police across the dangerous Sunni Triangle killing 24 people _ including 19 policemen _ on Tuesday, a day after the major Sunni Muslim political party pulled out of the campaign for the Jan. 30 elections citing the deteriorating security situation. Twelve policemen died when gunmen attacked a station 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the city, Saddam Hussein's hometown, said Arkan Mohammed, a local government official. Militants launched four other attacks on various police checkpoints in Tikrit, killing five Iraqi officers and injuring three others, said Sgt. Robert Powell, of the Tikrit-based U.S. 1st Infantry Division. In Baqouba, a town 57 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, unidentified gunmen assassinated Captain Na'em Muhanad Abdullah, a local police commander, and wounded three other men, a spokesman said. In Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, a gunman attacked a police station in the northeastern Hadbaa district, said police Capt. Ahmed Khalil. One policeman died in the attack. In another blow to plans to hold the ballot as scheduled, the largest Sunni political group withdrew from the race Monday, only hours after a suicide car bomber killed 15 people in Baghdad in an attempt to assassinate the head of Iraq's strongest Shiite party.
