Government Officials Targeted, US Soldiers Killed in Iraq

Three Iraqi government officials were assassinated by gunmen in separate neighborhoods in Baghdad on Saturday, officials with the Interior Ministry said re continuing violence in Iraq.

Yousif Abdullatif, a Defense Ministry employee, was shot dead in the al-Jadriya neighborhood in central Baghdad, officials said.

Director General of the Iraqi Taxes Committee Foad Fadhel was killed in the al-Jamia neighborhood in western Baghdad, they said.

Mohammed Qassim, an officer working at the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, was shot dead by gunmen in the Mansour neighborhood in western Baghdad, the officials said.

Separately, in the South of the country a US officer and a private soldier were killed by a bomb on Friday.

Government figures show the death toll in Iraq has been rising.
In March, 247 Iraqis were killed, up from 197 people in February. Another 370 people were wounded in March.