A member of Iraq's parliament, three of his bodyguards and his son were killed by a suicide car bomb attack on their convoy in the northern outskirts of Baghdad today, police sources said.
Dhari Ali al-Fayadh, a member of the ruling Shi'ite-dominated political alliance, was the second member of Iraq's newly elected parliament to be assassinated since the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government took office two months ago.
Al-Qaeda's wing in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, saying his “crime” was that he belonged to a council that legislated against what it saw as God's commands.
Violence in Iraq has worsened dramatically since the government took office. Lamia Khadori, another parliamentarian, was gunned down at her home in April.
Fayadh was the oldest member of parliament and had acted as speaker when the national assembly met for the first time after an election in January.