3 Iraqi government officials assassinated Thursday

They are the latest victims of attacks that, during recent months, have left dozens of government officials dead, killed by gunmen using pistols equipped with silencers or blasted by so-called sticky bombs -- explosive devices attached to the undercarriages of the victims' vehicles.

Basim Taher, a judge at a civic court in al-Bayaa, was fatally shot while he was driving toward his home in western Baghdad's al-Adil neighborhood.

In the al-Taji area of northern Baghdad, Jalal Jassim Mohammed, the director general of al-Nasr State Company for Mechanical Industries, was fatally shot while driving near the company.

In the al-Autaifiya neighborhood of western Baghdad, gunmen shot dead a police commissioner as he was driving near his house.

In the al-Binook neighborhood of northeastern Baghdad, a man was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded as he was driving near his house, the officials said.

The assassinations have led some government officials to take some precautionary measures like changing the type or color of their cars or changing their routes home, three government officials told CNN. They spoke on condition of anonymity for security concerns.

Separately, in the al-Ghadeer neighborhood of eastern Baghdad, an improvised explosive device planted outside a liquor store detonated early Thursday, damaging the store, which had not opened for the day, Ministry of Interior officials said.

And in the al-Kharkh area of central Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded near a coffee shop and wounded two people, the officials said.

The attacks come as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki must decide whether to ask U.S. military forces to remain in Iraq beyond the year-end withdrawal deadline; Kazinform has learnt from CNN.

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