An Iraqi policeman sacrificed himself on Wednesday as he tried to protect Shiites, embracing a suicide bomber moments before the man exploded, officials said.

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 visitors. 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 Sa’ad Naim said.