Osama Youssef Kashmoula (died 14 July 2004) was an Iraqi politician who served as governor of

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

until his assassination. As governor, he was known for "reaching across ethnic and sectarian divides in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

," with

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born 7 November 1952) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 2011 until his resignation in November 2012. Pri ...

calling him a "courageous, committed and determined governor." While traveling in a convoy, Kashmoula was attacked by unidentified assailants between the cities of

Baiji The baiji (''Lipotes vexillifer'') is a probably extinct species of freshwater dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to be the first dolphin species driven to extinction due to the impact of humans. This dolphin is ...

and

Tikrit Tikrit ( ) is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000. Originally created as a f ...

, as he traveled south to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. He was killed with two guards. Insurgents had repeatedly attacked local officials, who were seen as being collaborators with American forces, but who had not killed an official as senior as Kashmoula since the assassinations of Iraq's most senior

career diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state, intergovernmental, or nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or international organizations. The main functions of diplomats a ...

and a top Education Ministry official.

References

Iraqi politicians Year of birth missing 2004 deaths Assassinated Iraqi politicians Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2004 {{Iraq-politician-stub