Nine killed as bomb explodes on airport bus

A bomb exploded on a bus carrying airport employees in Baghdad today, reportedly killing nine people.

Dr Ayad Ali of Yarmouk Hospital said the explosion occurred on the main highway leading from the capital to the international airport.

The stretch of road is considered one of the most dangerous highways in Iraq, with militants frequently targeting US and Iraqi military convoys.

* A senior Oil Ministry official was killed today by gunmen on his way to work, the ministry's spokesman said.

Hussein Ali al-Fattal, director general of the oil by-products distribution company, was shot to death by unknown assailants after leaving his house in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad, said spokesman Assim Jihad.

"He did not care about the threats many of the ministry officials received. They are trying to undermine this vital sector in the country," Jihad said. "He is great loss to the oil sector."