Iraqi Official Killed In Ambush

(RFE/RL) 31 October 2005 -- An Iraqi cabinet adviser was killed when gunmen attacked his car in northern Baghdad on 30 October.

Ghalib Abdul-Mahdi, brother of Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, died along with his driver.


In a separate incident, police said Iraq's deputy trade minister was wounded in the shoulder when his motorcade was ambushed by gunmen in Baghdad, killing two of his bodyguards.


These attacks came after a suicide truck bombing on 29 October killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more in the small town of Howaider near to the provincial capital of Baquba.


Meanwhile, the Pentagon has issued a report on civilian casualties in Iraq for the first time. The report estimates that some 26,000 Iraqis have been killed or wounded in attacks by insurgents since January 2004.


(compiled from agency reports)