Iraq MP from Iraqiya bloc shot dead in Mosul

An Iraqi MP from the secular Iraqiya bloc has been shot dead by gunmen in the northern city of Mosul, officials say.

Bashar al-Ageidi was ambushed outside his house and later died of his wounds.

No group has so far said it carried out the attack.

The Iraqiya bloc of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi narrowly won elections in March, beating incumbent PM Nouri Maliki's State of Law alliance.

Mr Ageidi, who was in his mid-30s, was in front of his house in western Mosul when a car carrying the gunmen stopped nearby.

Police say two of the men got out and shot the deputy in the chest.

But in confusion one of the attackers was unable to get back into the vehicle and was later captured.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the most obvious suspects in an assassination like this are Sunni militants, bent on disrupting the political process and deterring people from taking part.

Mosul, about 350km (215 miles) north of Baghdad, remains a hotbed of insurgent activities, despite efforts to pacify it.

Earlier this week, Iraq's electoral commission upheld parliamentary election results in Baghdad and the surrounding area after a partial recount.

Many Iraqis hope the move will draw a line under a series of challenges to the vote itself, and the beginning of negotiations in earnest between the various political parties.

No single party won enough seats to form a government on its own.

A broad coalition of some kind - including Shias, Sunnis and Kurds - seems the most likely outcome, correspondents say.