Insurgents assassinated an army general and a police colonel in separate attacks Thursday morning in Baghdad, officials of the defense and interior ministries said.

"Staff General Iyad Imad Mehdi was assassinated by gunmen at about 07:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) as he was leaving his house to work in Jihad district," defense ministry source told Xinhua.

In a separate incident, gunmen shot dead police colonel Jamal Ahmed Hussein near his home in Amin district in southeastern Baghdad, an interior ministry official said.

Hussein was on his way to work at the interior ministry when he came under attack, added the official.

Insurgents stepped up their violent campaign over the few past weeks to destabilize the country's new government, targetting security forces and senior officials.

Source: Xinhua