Official shot down west of Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: A local official in Basra province was shot down by unidentified gunmen in the district of al-Zubair, west of the city, according to a local security source on Sunday. “Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Saturday evening (May 9) on Brig. Hakeem Jassem al-Sarayfi at his office in al-Zubair, (35 km) west of Basra, killing him instantly,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Sarayfi, an officer in the former Iraqi army, was the director of the social care department in al-Zubair,” he added. The oil-rich port city of Basra, lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P) 1