
Gunmen Kill Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister
59 minutes ago
By TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen firing from a car killed Iraq's deputy foreign minister Saturday in the first assassination of a senior official since the new interim government was announced this month. Iraqi authorities blamed Saddam Hussein loyalists.
Bassam Salih Kubba, 60, the slain minister, was Iraq's most senior career diplomat and was slated to stay on in the new administration that takes over after June 30 from the U.S.-led occupation authority.
Kubba was mortally wounded when gunmen drove up behind his car in the city's Azimiyah district and opened fire, Foreign Ministry spokesman Thamir al-Adhami said.
The assailants then passed the stricken vehicle and fired a second time, the spokesman said. Kubba's driver escaped injury, but Kubba died in a hospital.
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