BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BNO NEWS) -- The Director of the Iraqi Health Ministry, Mohammed Ali al-Safi, was assassinated on Monday after receiving a fatal gunshot wound, officials said.

A group of unidentified gunmen carried out the attack in the western part of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Al-Safi was shot dead in the Police Channel area of the capital, security sources told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

No further information about the assassination was immediately released, but the report said the assailants were able to flee the scene.

Al-Safi's assassination comes only one day after a series of bomb blasts in the city of Karbala killed 10 people and injured 85 others, including 34 security personnel. Officials said a total of four explosions took place in the center of the city.

The first blast, a car bomb, was quickly followed by another as emergency teams, including ambulances and security forces, rushed to the scene. A third and fourth blast later followed as relief efforts were being carried out.