Baghdad deputy police chief and son assassinated

The deputy police chief of Baghdad and his son, also a police officer, were assassinated today, an interior ministry official said.

Brigadier Amer Ali Nayef and his son Lt Khalid Amer were shot dead in Baghdad’s south Dora district while travelling in a car on their way to work, said spokesman for the ministry Capt. Ahmed Ismail.

This was the latest in a series of assassinations of ranking Iraqi security force officials on the eve of a landmark January 30 election which insurgents are trying to disrupt.

Last Tuesday in Baghdad, gunmen shot dead the governor of Baghdad, Ali al-Haidari, and six of his bodyguards.