BAGHDAD, Nov 19: Guerillas in camouflage uniforms kidnapped Iraq's deputy health minister from his home on Sunday, a day after another prominent Shia politician was shot dead amid brewing sectarian strife.

It was the latest incident over the past week that cast doubt on the loyalties of Iraq's US-trained security forces and came as the Syrian foreign minister flew in for talks likely to focus on aid reaching militants through Syria.

A suicide bomber earlier killed 22 people in a predominantly Shia town south of Baghdad after luring poor day labourers with the promise of work and then detonating explosives in a minibus.

In Baghdad, Ammar al-Saffar, 50, a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawa party, was taken away by gunmen wearing uniforms who were accompanied by three men in suits, a neighbour said.

Meanwhile, Syria's foreign minister arrived for a visit to Baghdad.—Reuters