The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Baghdad

Gunmen killed an appeals court judge as he headed to work in the western Baghdad district of Mansour on Monday, police and the deputy justice minister said.

Amir Jawdat al-Naeib, a high-ranking judge at the appeals court and a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, was ambushed by gunmen in two cars as he was being driven to work from his home in Mansour, police and Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said. His driver was also killed.

The Supreme Judicial Council is a judicial supervisory body that swears in all judges and parliament, among other responsibilities.

Professionals, including academics, government officials, doctors, lawyers and judges, have often been targeted for assassination in recent years in Iraq. In October, an investigative judge in the northern city of Kirkuk, Zaher al-Bayati, narrowly escaped assassination when gunmen in a vehicle opened fire on him, killing two of his bodyguards.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Arab lawmakers from rival sects joined forces Sunday to criticize what they claim is overreaching by the Kurds, alleging the powerful U.S.-backed minority's go-it-alone style in oil and other major issues threatens national unity.

The 145 Shiite, Sunni and other legislators signaled their opposition to Kurdish ambitions in the disputed northern city of Kirkuk and in negotiating deals with foreign oil companies without involving the central government.

"There must be a formula for maintaining the unity of Iraq and the distribution of its wealth," said secular lawmaker Osama al-Nijifi, reading from a declaration at a news conference in the capital. "Oil and gas are a national wealth, and we are concerned about those who want to go it alone when it comes to signing deals," he said.

The declaration, which was careful not to mention the Kurdish government by name, could create new tensions among Sunni Arab, Shiite and Kurdish groups.

The Kurds are a key group within the governing coalition and have been Washington's most reliable allies in Iraq. Since the ouster of Saddam Hussein they have forged a close relationship with the majority Shiites.