after an Italian security worker became the first civilian hostage to be killed
An Iranian diplomat was today assassinated in Baghdad in a gun attack on his car near the Iranian embassy.
It was not clear whether the murder was connected to a visit to Iraq today by a senior Iranian envoy who is trying to mediate an end to the US standoff with radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Iraqi foreign ministry spokesman Thamir al-Adhami confirmed that the diplomat had been killed. The man was identified as Khalil Noeimi, the embassy's first secretary.
Asked whether the killing was linked to the envoy's visit, the embassy official said, "There is some speculation, but we do not have a clear idea."
The bonnet of the diplomat's car was crumpled and bullet holes pockmarked the windshield. The car had diplomatic plates but no symbols on it suggesting it was Iranian.
Mr Noeimi had been shot three times in the head, the Arab TV station al-Jazeera said.
Guardian UK Apr.15.04
We know it wasn't the Israelis who did it. We know that. Because it couldn't have been. Because there are no Israelis in Iraq. And there are no Israeli agents in Iraq.
