A new and disturbing trend is emerging from the daily violence in Iraq. Even before Saddam Hussein's capture, attacks against coalition troops were on the wane, replaced by increasing sectarian aggression between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and attacks against Iraqi police and security forces.

The new attacks have prompted fears that Sunni insurgents, many of whom remain sympathetic to Hussein, are attempting to exploit religious and ethnic tension to provoke a civil war and push Iraq into anarchy.

In Baghdad on Wednesday, suspected followers of Saddam Hussein shot and killed Muhannad al-Hakim, a representative of a major Shiite party and a member of a prominent political family.

A member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), al-Hakim was killed as he was leaving his home. He was buried Thursday.

Al-Hakim was head of security at the Education Ministry and a cousin of Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, the current president of the American-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. The job rotates among members monthly.

The slain man was also a cousin of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a top Shiite cleric and founder of SCIRI during Iranian exile. In an earlier incident of sectarian violence, Baqir al-Hakim was killed in an August car bomb attack in the southern city of Najaf that left at least 85 people dead.

In Najaf Thursday, upon hearing news of Muhannad al-Hakim's assassination, an angry Shiite mob responded by beating a former member of Saddam's Baath party to death.

With even the slightest chance of Hussein's return now gone, Iraq's Sunni minority is increasingly unsure of its place as the country is transformed. The Sunnis, who benefited largely under Saddam's rule, have been given no role in the evolving provisional government.

The Shiites, already frustrated by years of harsh repression under Saddam's rule, are losing patience. If the coalition cannot protect them, they are pledging to take matters into their own hands.

Indeed, retaliatory attacks are already starting to occur. Last week, a bomb planted outside a Sunni mosque killed three civilians.

In Baghdad Thursday, an American official said attacks against coalition forces had declined in the past month, while attacks on civilians saw a four-fold increase. Brig. General Mark Kimmitt said by next summer, as the occupying force leaves and Iraq prepares for elections, the level of violence is likely to rise.

"As we get closer to the transition of government, that may create some more turmoil (or) whether it's inter-sectarian, whether it's directed against the coalition," he said.