Politician dies in Iraq attack

A member of the Turkoman Front political group was assassinated today in northern Iraq while driving his children to school, police said.

Col Burhan Taha said politician Ghafour Abu Bakr was killed at 8.30am (local time) in Kirkuk when unknown attackers opened fire, killing him and slighting injuring his two children.

Taha said the four assailants stole the victim’s vehicle after pushing his two children out of the car.

The ethnically diverse city of Kirkuk has seen sporadic violence as its various ethnic groups compete for control of the oil-rich region. Kirkuk is located 180 miles north of Baghdad.

Many Kurds consider the city part of their Kurdish homeland although it is not part of the autonomous Kurdistan region. The city’s Arab and ethnic Turkish populations oppose Kurdish domination.