BAGHDAD, Nov. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Gunmen assassinated a senior Iraqi Oil Ministry official in a drive-by shooting in Baghdad on Wednesday, a ministry spokesman said.

    Hussein Ali al-Fattal, director general of the oil by-products distribution company, was shot dead in Yarmouk district in western Baghdad after leaving his house heading to his work, Asim Jihad said.

    Earlier, Fattal received threats like many officials in the ministry, according to Jihad, who said "they are trying to undermine this vital sector in the country."

    Iraq's oil industry has been the target of repeated attacks by insurgents in recent months. Enditem