Gunmen kill leading Iraqi judge in Baghdad ambush

BAGHDAD, June 27 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a leading Iraqi judge in an ambush as he drove home in Baghdad, police and a judicial official said on Friday. Kamel al-Shewaili, head of one of the capital's two appeals courts, was killed while driving along a road in eastern Baghdad on Thursday afternoon, said Abdul Satar al-Birqadr, a spokesman for the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council. Assailants using two vehicles blocked the judge's way, a police source said. They shot the judge, who was alone in his vehicle, before driving away, he said. Usually, top Iraqi judges have bodyguards in their cars or in accompanying vehicles. Neither the police source nor Birqadr knew whether Shewaili had bodyguards with him. "He was one of the best judges in Iraq. He worked in this field for more than 20 years. It is very difficult to replace... [read full story]