Dallas shooting: Obama to pay tribute to slain officers

President Barack Obama is expected to arrive in Dallas to pay tribute to the five police officers who were shot and killed during a deadly sniper attack.

The deadly attack left five officers dead and seven others injured

Mr Obama will deliver remarks at a memorial service for the slain officers, who were killed last week at a Dallas protest.

The gunman was killed by a bomb delivered by a police robot during a standoff with authorities.

Mr Obama's trip comes amid mounting racial tension across the country.

Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, opened fire at a protest held over the recent police shootings of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. He killed five policemen and wounded at least nine other officers and two civilians.

The city held a candlelight vigil to remember the slain officers

Supporters visit a makeshift memorial at the Dallas police headquarters

The Army veteran told police negotiators he was upset by recent shootings and wanted to kill white people, specifically officers.

Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, North America reporter

As Barack Obama often points out, he has had plenty of experience during his seven years as president consoling the nation following a mass-shooting tragedy. He has also been afforded numerous opportunities to comment on race relations and how it can adversely affect law enforcement in American society.

When he takes the stage in Dallas, however, Mr Obama will be in the delicate position of trying to navigate through waters roiled by all those issues at once. He will be expected to offer sympathy for the five officers who lost their lives at the hands of a black sniper enraged by recent episodes of perceived police brutality, while acknowledging that those episodes have created justifiable anger and resentment within the black community.

Mr Obama is a man of remarkable rhetorical skill, but his words and actions will be tested on Tuesday like few times in his administration. Solutions are neither quick nor easy, increasing the odds that no one will leave Dallas satisfied that another tragedy - whether at a police stop or in shots fired into an innocent crowd - is not lurking somewhere in the near future.

First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will also meet privately with the families of the victims on Wednesday.

"The president is hoping to offer some measure of comfort," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

President George W Bush and First Lady Laura Bush are also expected to attend the interfaith service.

Mr Bush, who settled in Dallas after leaving office in 2009, is to scheduled to speak at the service as well.

Dallas police have ramped up security ahead of the president's visit, enlisting help from the Arlington Police Department to work with Secret Security.

Street closures were expected to double or even triple in size, the Dallas Courts Administrator told NBC

The US has been on edge in the wake of the recent string of violence, with protests over police reform and race relations roiling across the country.

Mr Obama and Mr Biden on Monday met with law enforcement officials to discuss police reform and how to repair relations between police officers and the communities they protect.

The president, who cut short a trip to Europe over the recent violence, is expected to host a similar meeting on Wednesday in Dallas with law enforcement as well as local leaders and activists.

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