Leading Sunni official in Iraq hit by roadside bomb
BAGHDAD — A convoy carrying a leading Sunni government official was hit with a roadside bomb Sunday night, injuring his body guards, according to the official and a police colonel from the heavily Sunni area where the blast was reported.
Finance Minister Rafe al-Essawi survived the blast, which occurred at 9:15 p.m. in the Salahuddin province north of Baghdad.
Responding to inquiries via text message, Essawi would not say whether he thought his convoy was targeted or the attack was random.
“We will send a letter to the Ministry of Interior to investigate,” he wrote via text message.
According to Col. Jassim Abdulla, a deputy police chief in Salahuddin, Essawi was returning home to Baghdad. Abdulla said three of Essawi’s bodyguards, two officers and one soldier were taken to a hospital in Tikrit.
Essawi holds a wide reputation in Iraq as a moderate official. He is part of the Iraqiya political bloc, which is supported by Sunnis and also has some Shiites. The bloc has been a sharp critic in recent weeks of the country’s top official, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, who has made moves to consolidate his power in the wake of the U.S. military departure.
News of the incident likely will increase political tensions in Iraq. In recent weeks, the Shiite-controlled security forces have accused another Sunni official, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, of running a hit squad. He has fled to the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan. Maliki is demanding that Hashimi return to Baghdad to face trial.
Further details of the incident were not available, nor is there any indication who might have planted the bomb. In the past, terrorists in Iraq have targeted officials to try to widen political tensions between different sects in the country.
Uthman al-Mohktar in Anbar contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...oadside-bomb/2012/01/02/gIQATX1gVP_story.html
BAGHDAD — A convoy carrying a leading Sunni government official was hit with a roadside bomb Sunday night, injuring his body guards, according to the official and a police colonel from the heavily Sunni area where the blast was reported.
Finance Minister Rafe al-Essawi survived the blast, which occurred at 9:15 p.m. in the Salahuddin province north of Baghdad.
Responding to inquiries via text message, Essawi would not say whether he thought his convoy was targeted or the attack was random.
“We will send a letter to the Ministry of Interior to investigate,” he wrote via text message.
According to Col. Jassim Abdulla, a deputy police chief in Salahuddin, Essawi was returning home to Baghdad. Abdulla said three of Essawi’s bodyguards, two officers and one soldier were taken to a hospital in Tikrit.
Essawi holds a wide reputation in Iraq as a moderate official. He is part of the Iraqiya political bloc, which is supported by Sunnis and also has some Shiites. The bloc has been a sharp critic in recent weeks of the country’s top official, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, who has made moves to consolidate his power in the wake of the U.S. military departure.
News of the incident likely will increase political tensions in Iraq. In recent weeks, the Shiite-controlled security forces have accused another Sunni official, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, of running a hit squad. He has fled to the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan. Maliki is demanding that Hashimi return to Baghdad to face trial.
Further details of the incident were not available, nor is there any indication who might have planted the bomb. In the past, terrorists in Iraq have targeted officials to try to widen political tensions between different sects in the country.
Uthman al-Mohktar in Anbar contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...oadside-bomb/2012/01/02/gIQATX1gVP_story.html