A secretary to Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was shot to death on a video released on an islamic website. The group is said to be that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda in Iraq although it could not be verified.

Yahoo/Reuters

The tape, described as issued by a group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, shows Salem Jaafar al-Kanani speaking to the camera before he is shot several times while lying on the ground.

Text in the video said the Al Qaeda Organization of Holy War in Iraq was "implementing the ruling of God" against Kanani.

"I advise all Iraqis, especially young people, not to back or cooperate with the occupying enemy," Kanani says before he is shot, adding that he had worked as an election organizer in Allawi's Iraqi National Accord party.

This is just the latest in a bunch of attacks to discourage people from voting just prior to the elections which will be held on January 30, 2005.

Tipped by: In The Bullpen