Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Four police officers and a local Awakening Council member were assassinated in Baghdad neighborhoods on Saturday, police said.
The violence comes as U.S. forces continue a drawdown in Iraq. President Barack Obama said last week that plans to reduce the total number of American troops in Iraq to 50,000 by the end of this month are on schedule.
At that point, the U.S. military mission will shift to training and supporting Iraqi security forces, as well as support for U.S. diplomats.
In al-Niaria neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad, gunmen approached a security checkpoint and shot dead two national police officers using silenced pistols, police said. The attackers then carried the two bodies, placed them in a police vehicle and set it on fire.
Two other police officers were shot dead in al-Amil neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad by gunmen with silenced pistols, police said.
In al-Basatin neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, gunmen approached a checkpoint manned by local Awakening Council members, killing one and wounding two others. CNN
