Gunmen kill coach of Iraq’s national karate team in northern city of Mosul, officials say

Iraqi karate coach killed by gunmen in Mosul

BAGHDAD — Officials say gunmen have killed the coach of Iraq’s national karate team in the northern city of Mosul.

Sports figures have frequently been targeted in Iraq’s violence, but the attacks decreased with security gains over the past two years.

The head of the local Olympic committee says Izzat Abdullah was gunned down Friday near his house in Mosul, where insurgents remain active. The Committee chief, Khalid Mahmoud, says he attended the funeral.

A spokesman for the National Olympic Committee says the 45-year-old former karate champion spent his time training youths as well as coaching the national team.

The spokesman, Saif al-Maliki, says Abdullah moved to Mosul from Baghdad after the U.S. ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003.