Iraqi activist shot dead in Kirkuk

Iraqi authorities have confirmed a leading organiser of anti-government protesters has been killed in a drive-by shooting in the country’s north. Lieutenant Colonel Wisam Abdullah announced gunmen shot Bunyan Sabar al-Obeidi on Sunday morning as he drove his car through the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 290 kilometres north of Baghdad. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabstoday al-Obeidi was shot several times. “He died on the spot,” the source said. Al-Obeidi had been an instrumental organiser and spokesman for Sunni protests in Kirkuk. He survived another assassination attempt last week. Protesters in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq have continued demonstrations against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government. Obeidi’s death comes two days after activists claimed security forces fired on a Mosul demonstration, killing one and injuring a number of others.