A senior official in Iraq's education ministry was shot dead in Baghdad today in the second assassination of a top government official in as many days.
Mr Kamal al-Jarrah, 63, director-general for cultural relations, was attacked by gunmen as he left his house in western Baghdad and died later in the city's Yarmuk Hospital.
Mr Jarrah's wife, who was with him, was unhurt in the attack, Mr Abdul Khaliq al-Amiri, secretary to the education minister, said.
Yesterday, gunmen killed Mr Bassam Qubba, the foreign ministry's undersecretary for multinational affairs and international organizations.
He was shot as he drove to work from his home in Baghdad's mainly Sunni Muslim Adhamiya district.
The US-led administration has warned of the risk of an upsurge of attacks in the run-up to the formal handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi government on June 30th.