BAGHDAD, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen assassinated the sister of Iraq's new Sunni Vice President, Tareq al-Hashimi, in southern Baghdad on Thursday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

    "Unknown armed men shot dead in drive-by shooting Maisoon al-Hashimi, sister of Tareq al-Hashimi, head of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, in al-Darwish intersection in the Saidiyah neighborhood," the source said on condition of anonymity.

    Hashimi's brother, Muhmoud al-Hashimi, was also assassinated by unknown gunmen in central Baghdad on April 13.

    Tareq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Arab, was appointed on Saturday the new vice president of Iraq. Enditem