CAIRO, Jan. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- A group led by al-Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an earlier assassination of Baghdad Governor Ali al-Haidri, said a statement posted on an Islamic website.

   "A group of mujahideen of the Qaeda organization for Holy War in Iraq assassinated a tyrant and American agent, the governor of Baghdad Ali al-Haidri," the statement said.

   Earlier in the day, Ali al-Haidri and one of his bodyguards were killed in a drive-by shooting in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

   Haidri survived a previous assassination attempt in September, which killed two of his bodyguards.

   To unseat the Jan. 30 general elections, insurgents have escalated their attacks against Iraqi officials, US troops and Iraqi security guards to destabilize the situation in the war-ravaged country. Enditem