Iraqi police say a car bomb has killed at least seven policemen in central Iraq.

Authorities say the bomb exploded as the policemen went to check the car parked by the side of the road Sunday in the north-central town of Dhuluiya. 

At least two other officers were wounded in the explosion, 70 kilometers north of Baghdad.

Iraqi police also say the intelligence chief of the southern port city of Basra was killed Saturday in a drive-by shooting in eastern Baghdad.  The official, Brigadier General Jabar Musaid, was killed while visiting relatives in a neighborhood controlled by Shi'ite militias.

Separately, Iraqi officials are demanding an explanation from the U.S. military about the death of a relative of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.  The relative was shot dead Friday in a raid by U.S. soldiers in Hindiya, east of the holy city of Karbala.

Local leaders say the raid violated an agreement that transferred responsibility for Karbala's security from U.S. to Iraqi forces last year.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, and Reuters.