Mayor of north Iraqi city Samarra shot dead

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The mayor of the northern Iraqi city of Samarra was shot dead on Wednesday, police said.

Abboud Hameed Saleh was gunned down in his home, they said.

Samarra, a mainly Sunni city 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, is home to the Golden Mosque. Revered by Shi'ites, its twin minarets were destroyed in June by suspected Sunni Islamist al Qaeda militants.

The destruction of the mosque's dome in February 2006 triggered a wave of sectarian bloodshed in which many thousands of Iraqis died.