By msnbc.com news services
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq -- An Iraqi student shot dead his American teacher and then shot himself in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Thursday, the provincial governor said.
"There was an argument between the student and his American teacher ... and as a result of that argument the student shot dead his teacher using a pistol he had, and then shot himself," said Sulaimaniya Province Governor Zan Mohammad Salih.
"We cannot say there is a political or religious dimension to the incident and the investigation is still going on. It is an ordinary criminal incident," the governor said.
Local police spokesman Sarkawit Mohammed said the 18-year-old student was taken to a hospital where he later died. Mohammed said the American was a sports teacher from Washington state.
The northern Kurdish region was spared the extreme violence that has plagued the rest of Iraq, and is the only part of the country that draws large numbers of Westerners living and working without special security measures.
U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in December, nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, which was followed by a fierce insurgency and sectarian conflict. Washington maintains a consulate in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish zone.
"We have heard reports regarding the shooting of a teacher in Sulaimaniya and are working through our consulate in Irbil and Iraqi authorities to ascertain the details of the incident," a U.S. Embassy spokesman told Reuters. "At this time we are waiting for identification to be complete and for the family to be notified."
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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
