Jan 24 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 0800 GMT on Wednesday: BAGHDAD - Gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of Abd Dhiab al-Ajili, minister of higher education, on a highway in the southern Doura district of Baghdad, killing one of his guards and seriously wounding another, the minister told Reuters. BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by tanks clashed with gunmen in central Baghdad for a second day as helicopters flew overhead, residents said. BAGHDAD - A total of 17 bodies were found, shot dead, in different districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. KUT - Gunmen killed an Iraqi translator who worked with the U.S. forces on Tuesday in the city of Kut, 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said. KUT - Gunmen killed a former member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party on Tuesday in the city of Kut, police said. SUWAYRA - Clashes erupted between gunmen and the Iraqi army and police, wounding six soldiers on Tuesday in the town of Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said. Three soldiers went missing during the clashes.