An Iraqi cabinet adviser was killed today when his car was attacked by gunmen in northern Baghdad and a deputy trade minister was wounded in a separate attack, officials said.
Ghalib Abdul Mehdi, a brother of Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi, was "martyred" in the attack, which also killed his driver, President Jalal Talabani said.
"I am sure you will turn this sadness and agony into a feeling of hatred toward the killers," Talabani said in a condolence message to Adel Abdul Mehdi released by his office.
Ghalib Abdul Mehdi had earlier been reported wounded in the attack. His brother, Adel Abdul Mehdi, is a member of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Iraq's largest Shia political party and senior partner in the U.S.-backed ruling coalition.
In a separate incident, police said Deputy Trade Minister Qais Dawoud Hassan was wounded in the shoulder when his motorcade was ambushed by gunmen in Baghdad, killing two of his bodyguards. Six more guards and a passerby were wounded in the attack in the upscale Baghdad district of Mansour.
Sunni Arab militants frequently target government officials as part of their campaign of attacks, kidnappings and suicide bombings against the Shia and Kurdish-led Baghdad government.