The mayor of a town in a restive region west of Baghdad has been shot dead along with his son, according to a US military spokeswoman.
The assasination in Hadithah, about 200 km (120 miles) northwest of Baghdad, was under investigation and further details wereunavailable, she said. The bodies were taken to Ramadi, the nearest big city, for an autopsy.
The spokeswoman could not say whether the mayor had been appointed by a US military commander, as is common in post-war Iraq. Other mayors have since been appointed by local councils under a process supervised by the Americans.
The largely Sunni Muslim areas of central Iraq, especially those in a triangular region west and north of Baghdad, have been particularly hostile to the US-led occupation and to those Iraqis cooperating with the Americans.
Thirty-three American soldiers have been killed by hostile fire since major combat was declared over on May 1. US officials blame diehard loyalists of ousted President Saddam Hussein for the attacks.
The Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera identified the mayor as Ali Mohammed Nayel al-Jughaify and said he was shot as he was driving home from his office.
"Residents accuse Jughaify of cooperating with the American forces," it said, adding that unknown men had in the morning distributed leaflets asking residents not to cooperate with US forces.