Islamic State jihadis posing as Iraqi police officers slaughtered at least 31 people and wounded 40 in an attack in Tikrit, a city in northern Iraq, reported Ireland’s Independent.ie.

The attackers first targeted a police checkpoint and the house of a police colonel who was head of counter-terrorism services. They then turned their fire on civilians in shops.

When the terrorists ran out of ammunition, two of the jihadis detonated suicide vests to inflict maximum damage.

Some 10 Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) fighters gained entrance to the city by disguising themselves as Iraqi police officers and driving a police vehicle. Five of the jihadis were said to have survived and are believed to be in hiding.

Fourteen of those killed were policemen, including the colonel, who was killed along with four members of his family.