BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber assassinated a Sunni lawmaker in western Iraq on Tuesday, raising tensions in a part of the country that has been roiled by weeks of demonstrations. Seven people were killed in the attack.

While it was unclear who carried out the attack, the killing is likely to further strain relations between the central government and minority Sunnis who have been demanding reforms to policies they believe unfairly target their sect. Suicide bombings are frequently the work of Sunni extremists, such as al-Qaida, who seek to exacerbate Iraq's sectarian divide.

The governor of Anbar province, Qassim al-Fahdawi, said that lawmaker Ifan Saadoun al-Issawi was killed on his way to join one of the anti-government protests when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the restive city of Fallujah.