Three Professors Killed By Gunmen In Iraq

An Iraqi soldier stands guard near a damaged civilian truck at the site of a roadside bomb explosion in Al-Saadon street in Baghdad, April 17 (epa) April 19, 2006 -- Iraqi authorities say gunmen opened fire on staff members at a university in the north-central part of the country today, killing three professors and seriously wounding another.

Security forces immediately sealed off the area around Ba'qubah University following the attack.

Earlier, U.S. troops clashed with insurgents in Al-Ramadi, 110 kilometers west of Baghdad. News reports say four people were killed.

Also today, a prominent Shi'ite tribal leader, Sheikh Saad Jaber Yassin, was assassinated in the city of Al Kut, 170 kilometers south-east of Baghdad.

The assassination of the leader of the Bani Lam tribe was carried out by unidentified assailants who planted a bomb beneath the front seat of his car.

(compiled from agency reports)