Gunmen shot dead an adviser to one of Iraq's top Sunni officials on Tuesday as he headed to work in Baghdad, police said. The shooting of Ayed Abdul Ghani took place in new Baghdad, an eastern section of the capital, at about 7:45 a.m., said police Maj. Falah Al-Mohammedawi.
According to the AP, Ghani served as an adviser to Osama al-Najafi, Iraq's industry minister and one of the country's top Sunni figures. Before Iraq's constitutional vote on Saturday, al-Najafi had projected that Iraqis would reject the document if given the chance to vote freely.
Vote counting was still under way Tuesday, and the outcome of the referendum was expected to be announced on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, two U.S. Marines died in fighting in western Iraq near the border with Jordan, the military said Tuesday. The two died Monday when they were hit by small-arms fire as U.S. forces fought insurgents near the town of Rutba, 230 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. Four militants were killed and a small supply of their arms seized, the statement said.
