The television quoted hospital sources and sources in Djindjic's Democratic Party as saying that the prime minister had died in hospital as emergency surgery failed to save his life. There is still no official confirmation of his death.

The assassination took place at around 12:45 p.m. (1145 GMT) outside the government building in Belgrade. Djindjic, 50, was shot twice in the chest by high-caliber sniper bullets from a distance.

Witnesses said two people were arrested and one person was injured in the shooting. The scene was cordoned off by the police. The Serbian government was holding an emergency meeting on the incident.

Djindjic had a narrow escape last month when a truck suddenly drove toward his convoy of cars. He said later that the incident could be linked to the government's crackdown on organized crime in the country.

Djindjic, married and father of two children, was sworn in as Serbian prime minister on Jan. 25, 2001.

He played a pivotal role in the downfall of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000. He also decided to handover Milosevic to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague next year.

Profile: Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic

Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was shot in an assassination attempt in Belgrade on Wednesday and died later in hospital.

Born on Aug. 1, 1952 in Bosanski Samac, Djindjic was the son of a Yugoslav army officer. Having studied philosophy in Belgrade, he went on to the University of Konstanz in Germany, where he was awarded a Doctor's Degree in Philosophy in 1979.

In 1994, Djindjic became President of the Democratic Party, which he helped found in 1989. He was Mayor of Belgrade from February to September 1997.

Djindjic spearheaded efforts to oust then-president Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000, and his arrest later. He took office as the prime minister of the Republic of Serbia in 2001.

In June 2001, Djindjic, who favored cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, handed Milosevic to The Hague court, which accused Milosevic of genocide and other war crimes during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

Djindjic's tilt toward the West earned him many enemies among Serbia's nationalists. He broke apart with his close ally, Vojislav Kostunica, amid mounting feuding in the political rivalry that followed Kostunica's succession of Milosevic as Yugoslavia's president.

Dubbed by his supporters "the Manager" for his organizational skills, he nevertheless was often blasted by critics for a greed for power and authoritarian leadership style.

Djindjic speaks German and English and has two children. He liked to drive big cars and wear flashy black suits.

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2003)