Hassam Kamel Abdel Fattah, deputy governor of Baghdad, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the southern district of Dora on Monday, a spokesman at Iraq's interior ministry said.

The drive-by shooting took place at about 7:47 a.m. (0447 GMT) when assailants opened fire, killing the Baghdad's deputy governor and wounding four of his bodyguards, said Colonel Adnan Abdul Rahman.

He could not provide further details on the assassination which is the latest of a series of killings which targeted officials working in the country's US-installed government.