Iraqi minister assassinated

[Dreamer128]

An Iraqi deputy foreign minister, Bassam Kuba, has been assassinated in a Baghdad neighbourhood.

A spokesman at the Iraq Foreign Ministry, Thamir al-Aadhami, told Aljazeera on Saturday that details of the incident were still not clear.

"We heard that assailants opened fire on Bassam while he was driving his car near Assaf mosque," in the Aadamiya neighbourhood of Baghdad on Saturday, the spokesman said.

Kuba was taken to the Numan hospital where he died of his injuries, our correspondent said.

Career diplomat

Kuba, 60, was one of several deputy foreign ministers. Responsible for legal issues, he was the ministry's most senior career diplomat.

He served as the acting chief of the Iraqi mission to the United Nations in New York and as the Iraqi ambassador to China. Kuba also served on the committee which ran the ministry after the fall of Saddam Hussein's government.

He held a master's degree in international relations from St John's University in New York.

Other incidents

The attack was the second on members of the interim government in the last four days.

On Wednesday, the deputy health minister, Ammar al-Safar, escaped an assassination attempt also in the Aadamiya area while he was in his way to the Health Ministry. Al-Safar's guards exchanged fire with the attackers, who opened fire on his car and then fled the scene.
In related news, an Iraqi was killed and four others wounded in the Khan Dhari district in Baghdad when clashes erupted there between resistance fighters and US occupation forces.

Occupation troops had come under rocket-propelled grenade attack in the area, our correspondent said.

And in the restive city of Baquba, two bombs exploded, wounding two occupation soldiers and two Iraqi policemen.

Najaf rattled

In southern Iraq, a fragile truce between occupation troops and fighters loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr was interrupted as skirmishes erupted on Saturday.

Gun shots and mortar rounds rattled the restive holy city of Najaf as armed militiamen gathered near a shrine while US forces deployed around a vast Shia cemetery near the city centre.

A spokesperson for al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army confirmed that three Humvees entered the cemetery this morning. They were apparently blocked by the fighters and forced to withdraw.

However, calm returned to Najaf by mid-morning. A ceasefire was reached after al-Sadr's fighters agreed to withdraw from the streets as long as occupation forces stay away from shrines.

(Source: Aljazeera)

[ 06-12-2004, 08:53 AM: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]

You know why these new iraqi leaders are getting whacked? BECAUSE THEY'RE DEFENSLESS!!! Who's guarding these people? Nobody. They need to be surrounded by security 24 hours a day if they're going to survive.