An Iraqi police officer was killed and two others wounded on Tuesday night at a US military checkpoint northeast of Baghdad, the Iraqi police said.

"The US soldiers in the checkpoint opened fire on a police vehicle after they failed to stop," said a statement issued by the joint command center for the Iraqi police and the US army in Tikrit.

The victim was seriously injured, and evacuated to a US field hospital, but he died later of his wounds, the statement said.

It added that a joint Iraqi-US military patrol returned fire after being under attack of insurgents early Wednesday near the Iraqi city of Baquba, some 60 km northeast of Baghdad, killing one of the attackers.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi police found two unidentified bodies north of Dhuluiyah, some 100 km north of Baghdad.

Both were shot in the chest and head with their hands tied behind their backs, the police said.

Source: Xinhua