INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS.

This article raises the possibility that this man was murdered because of his past ties with Saddam Hussein...or because he has recently disavowed the former dictator.

In Tikrit, Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khattab, leader of Saddam’s Bani al-Nasiri tribe, was shot and killed Sunday afternoon while he rode in his car.

Gov. Hussein al-Jubouri said al-Khattab’s son, Odai, also suffered a wound when assailants fired from a pickup and fled the scene.

The killing highlighted the shifting alliances that have characterized Iraq as the country emerges from 35 years of brutal, one-man rule. Even those eager to distance themselves from Saddam often pay dearly for their past links to him.

Al-Khattab "had many enemies, and he had confiscated a lot of properties and killed many people," the governor said, adding, "The person who killed him could have taken revenge."

Several Tikrit residents said that possibly Saddam loyalists angered at the tribal leader’s public disavowal of the ousted dictator killed the tribal chief.