RAMADI
A local official in the city of Ramadi told Anadolu Agency that the bodyguards and security forces of Saleh al-Mutlaq fired with automatic weapons on protestors who hurled rocks and bottles on the Sunni official, demanding him to quit working with Iraq's Shiite Premier Nouri al-Maliki.
The incident marks the first casualties in the more than a week of demonstrations in the country that faces escalating sectarian tensions.
Al-Mutlaq's office said there was an assassination attempt on the deputy premier from within the crowd of protestors, adding that several of his bodyguards were also injured in the incident.
The Arab League has called for dialogue to ease tensions, urging politicians, tribal leaders, civil society groups and religious leaders to avoid sectarian rhetoric.
