Military

Gunmen Assassinate Local Official In Iraq's Mosul

11 April 2005 -- A member of the provincial council in Mosul was shot dead by gunmen outside the city's main hospital.

U.S. forces said today Ajil Mechisin Ajil was in his car near Mosul General Hospital yesterday when a group of armed
men leapt from another car parked nearby and shot him. His driver was also killed.

Insurgents in Iraq frequently target officials seen as collaborating with U.S. authorities or working with the U.S.-backed government.

Mosul, about 400 kilometers north of the capital Baghdad, is Iraq's third-largest city.

It has experienced a surge in militant activity since November last year, when many insurgents are believed to have fled Al-Fallujah, west of Baghdad, ahead of a U.S. offensive and sought sanctuary in Mosul.

(Reuters)

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