Iraq: Violence death toll rises to nine

Unidentified assailants shot a senior intelligence official dead in his car today and police discovered the bullet riddled bodies of three men, a day after gunmen beheaded five people.

The dispersed violence since yesterday, which included roadside bombs and car bombs, came amid calls to replace the interior minister because of worsening security in Baghdad and surrounding towns, mostly blamed on sectarian conflict between the country’s Shiite and Sunni communities.