(KUNA) -- Policemen engaged in fierce armed clashes with armed fugitives in villages in the province of Diyala on Thursday and at least 10 of the armed men were killed and several others were detained in the action, security sources said. The police chief in the province, Major General Ghassan Al-Bawi, said in a statement that the fierce clashes, involving gunmen of Al-Qaeda, raged in a cluster of villages and towns west of the provincial town of Baacouba. He denied reports that gunmen organized a large demonstration in support of the recent declaration of establishing a local Islamic emirate, and said a group of 30 wanted gunmen attempted to stage a protest and chanted slogans in support of Al-Qaeda in a deserted neighborhood in the district of Al-Qatoun. But a police squad chased them, arrested three gunmen and seize arms in their possession.