BAGHDAD, March 8 (Xinhuanet) -- A senior police officer responsible for immigration in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior was assassinated on Tuesday, a spokesman said.

    Lt. Gen. Ghazi Mohammed Issa, deputy director of the passport office in the ministry, was gunned down by armed men at around 8:00a.m. (0500 GMT), spokesman Adnan Abdul Rahman told Xinhua.

    He was ambushed when he left his house in al-Galia district in western Baghdad and headed for work, Rahman said, adding that police was investigating the attack and tracking down the assassins.

    In a statement carried on a website, a terror network led by al-Qaida ally Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the ambush.

    Iraqi security forces have stepped up operations hunting Zarqawi, and hinted that they are closing on the most wanted man inIraq. But the group led by him continued to claim more attacks on the police. Enditem