Gunmen in Baghdad shot dead a well-known former government advisor and political analyst near his home on Monday in a rare high-profile killing in the Iraqi capital, government officials, police sources and medics said.
The government officials described the killing of Hisham al-Hashemi, who had written about politics, Islamic State and the role of Iran-backed militias in Iraq, as a targeted killing but did not point the finger at any particular group.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Hashemi's killing.