Monday, September 26, 2011
Director of Iraq's Health Ministry shot dead in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, IRAQ -- The Director of the Iraqi Health Ministry, Mohammed Ali al-Safi, was assassinated on Monday after receiving a fatal gunshot wound, officials said.
A group of unidentified gunmen carried out the attack in the western part of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Al-Safi was shot dead in the Police Channel area of the capital, security sources told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
No further information about the assassination was immediately released, but the report said the assailants were able to flee the scene.
Al-Safi's assassination comes only one day after a series of bomb blasts in the city of Karbala killed 10 people and injured 85 others, including 34 security personnel. Officials said a total of four explosions took place in the center of the city.
The first blast, a car bomb, was quickly followed by another as emergency teams, including ambulances and security forces, rushed to the scene. A third and fourth blast later followed as relief efforts were being carried out.
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=117187
earlier article ...
September 26, 2011
Senior finance official assassinated in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Baghdad gunmen assassinated a senior finance ministry official and wounded a senior judge, while a roadside bomb in northern Iraq killed three people Monday, officials said.
Senior Finance Ministry official Mohammed Ali al-Safi died Monday evening, hours after assailants opened fire on his car in western Baghdad, police and hospital officials said.
Additionally, officials said gunmen shot judge Munir Hadad in his hand during a drive-by shooting on a highway in central Baghdad in a failed assassination attempt. Hadad served as the spokesman for the Iraqi High Tribunal formed to prosecute former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his aides.
Separately, Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir said a detonated bomb hit a car carrying four people near the city of Kirkuk, some 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Three were killed and the fourth person was wounded in the explosion.
Kirkuk sits on top of one of Iraq's largest oil reserves and has long been a point of friction among Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen who are vying for control of the city and the land surrounding it.
The police and medical officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Attacks on Iraqi forces and officials have stepped up in recent months as the U.S. military prepares to withdraw from the country.
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