US aid worker shot dead in Baghdad, police say

Iraqi security officials say investigation is under way

The man was shot as he was driving through the central Karrada district on the eastern bank of the Tigris River. EPA

Assailants killed an American aid worker in Baghdad on Monday in a rare killing of a foreigner in the Iraqi capital, two police officials said.

The man was shot as he was driving through the central Karrada district on the eastern bank of the Tigris River.

The reason for the killing was not immediately clear, police said, and no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

US embassy officials when contacted by The Associated Press said they had only just heard about the shooting and had no information.

Two security officials confirmed a US citizen who worked for an international aid organisation had been killed without giving his name.

They said details were scarce but an investigation was under way. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Such attacks on foreigners in the Iraqi capital have been rare since the defeat of ISIS in the country in 2017 but rockets are sometimes fired towards the US embassy.

US-led coalition forces recently ended their combat mission in Iraq but continue to play an advisory role to Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIS.