The brother of Iraq's Sunni vice president was killed early Monday in his Baghdad home, a government spokesman said. Gen. Amir al-Hashimi, brother of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi and an adviser in the Defense Ministry, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen wearing military uniforms in his home in north Baghdad, Brig. Qassim al-Moussawi said.
Elsewhere, a suicide car bomber slammed into an Iraqi police checkpoint in Tal Afar, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing one policeman and injuring 12, police Brig. Najim Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, at least seven policemen died and hundreds others fell ill after suffering from food poisoning on Sunday in the town of Numaniya, south of Baghdad, police said on Monday. According to Reuters, it was not clear if the poisoning at an Iraqi military base was deliberate. Police sources said they arrested four of the cooks on Monday.
The policemen became ill minutes after the meal and at least 1,350 of the 2,000 policemen at the base were hospitalised, Lieutenant-Colonel Hasan Nima said.
