DHAKA: An Iraqi policeman sacrificed himself on Wednesday as he tried to protect Shia pilgrims, embracing a suicide bomber just moments before the man exploded.

Iraq officials said, reports The Straits Times.

The bomber struck in the Khales area northeast of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 10, a police colonel and a doctor said.

The colonel said one of the dead was a policeman who had been guarding the pilgrims.

He threw his arms around the bomber just before the attack in a bid to shield others.

The policeman was Ayyub Khalaf, 34, who was married and had two children, his friend Saad Naim told meida.

BDST: 2043 HRS, DEC 18, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor