BAGHDAD, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen shot dead a high-ranking Iraqi army officer in western Baghdad on Thursday, police source said.

    "Unidentified armed men shot dead Brigadier Muhammed Ridha, a director in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, in the Yarmouk neighborhood shortly after 8:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) while he was driving to workplace," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    Insurgents frequently attack Iraqi government employees and security forces accusing them of collaboration with the U.S. occupation. Enditem