The interim governor of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Hazem al-Ainachi, was shot dead by unidentified assailants Tuesday as he was heading to work, Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite news TV reported.

According to the TV, al-Ainachi was killed near a checkpoint at a distance of 100 meters from his house and one of his guards was injured and the gunmen fled.

The attack took place in a neighborhood located in the center of the city of Basra, some 550 km south of Baghdad and the second largest city in the country.

Al-Ainachi, 59, is a member of the regional council of Basra who took over the governorship after judge Wael Abdul Latif was named minister for governorate affairs in June in the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

On Monday a senior defence ministry official was shot dead in Baghdad, while a week ago the governor of the northern city of Mosul, Ussama Kachmul, was killed by insurgents.