Unknown gunmen assassinated an Iraqi professor in southern Baghdad neighborhood on Thursday, police said.

Dr. al-Harith Abdul Hameed, head of the Psychological and Educational Research Center in Baghdad University, was gunned down by armed men near Babylon hotel in Jadriyah neighborhood while he was heading for the University of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Education in Iraqi universities is all but crumbled due to sectarian strife, security and political vacuum after three and a half years of U.S.-led occupation.

Media reports suggested that thousands of the Iraqi high- profile professionals have left the country recently.

Source: Xinhua