BAGHDAD, May 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Abdul Zahra Othman Mohammad, head of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), also known as Izzedin Salim, was killed in a "targeted" assassination, Adnan Ali,of Salim's Islamic Da'wah Party, told CNN on Monday.

    Ali was referring to the powerful car bomb explosion outside the US-led coalition headquarters in central Baghdad earlier Monday. He described Salim as a "great," "intellectual" leader.

    Ali added that terrorists "well-planned" the assassination, aimed at causing chaos ahead of the scheduled power handover to Iraqi by June 30.

    Salim, a Shiite, was a prominent leader of the Islamic Da'wah Party in Basra, southern Iraq.

    He was waiting to enter the coalition headquarters when the devastating car bombing took place, which killed several others and caused many injuries. Enditem