The foreign ministry says gunmen fired on a car carrying Bassam Kubba as he was heading to work Saturday. He died of his wounds a short time later in a hospital.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which occurred in a predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood where support for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been strong.

Meanwhile, in Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, two roadside bombs exploded, wounding two coalition soldiers and two Iraqi policemen.