Unknown gunmen shot dead a professor of a Baghdad college along with his wife and son in central Baghdad on Thursday, a well-informed source from Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

"Professor Jasim Muhammad al-Zuhri, dean of Management and Economy College of Baghdad University, was gunned down by unidentified armed men in front of the rear gate of the college," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Zuhri's wife and son who were accompanying him were also shot dead in the attack, the source added.

Three days ago, gunmen killed Esam al-Rawi, head of Iraqi Professors' Association and a key member of the Association of Muslim Scholars in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Dawoodi.

Hundreds of senior Iraqi academics have been assassinated in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and more than 3,000 others have fled the country for fear of assassination or for better career opportunities.

Source: Xinhua