BAGHDAD, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi civil society activist was shot dead and another was wounded by unknown gunmen in central Iraq on Sunday, an Interior Ministry official said.
Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire from their pistols with silencers on civil society activist Haqi Ismael and killed him when he was driving in Baghdad's northeastern neighborhood of al-Shaab, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Separately, another civil society activist Thaer Karim al-Tayb was wounded when a sticky bomb attached to his car detonated in the city of Diwaniyah, some 180 km south of Baghdad, the official said.
In Iraq, assassinations and kidnappings have increased recently, especially among civil society activists who are participating in the anti-government demonstrations that started more than two months ago.
Meanwhile, a statement by the Iraqi Independent High Commission for Human Rights warned of the escalation of the assassinations of civil activists in the capital Baghdad and other cities.
The commission stressed the need for the security services to make efforts to put an end to the assassinations targeting unarmed citizens, arrest criminals and bring them to justice.
Mass demonstrations have continued in the capital Baghdad and other cities in central and southern Iraq since early October, demanding comprehensive reform, fight against corruption, better public services and more job opportunities.
