The US Embassy today said an American civilian working with the embassy was killed yesterday during an attack outside the Green Zone in Baghdad.
In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell identified the man as James Mollen, a State Department education specialist who served as a consultant to Iraq's minister of education and the minister of higher education.
Spokesman Mr Pete Mitchell said Mollen was travelling in a vehicle outside the protected Green Zone, which houses the US and Iraqi leadership, when he came under gunfire yesterday afternoon.
"Our strongest condolences go out to the family," he said. "This is certainly not the best time to hear such news on Thanksgiving. Our hearts go out to the family."
In October, a State Department security officer, Ed Seitz, was killed during an attack at a US base near Baghdad International Airport.