Baghdad: Iraqi police say a roadside bomb has struck a police patrol northeast of Baghdad and killed three officers.

Police spokesman Maj. Ghalib al-Kharki says that a police colonel was among those killed in the attack that took place late Wednesday.

He says four policemen were also wounded in the bombing, which targeted a police patrol on the outskirts of the town of Jalula.

Despite the drop in violence in Iraq, insurgents continue to target Iraqi security forces with regularity.