Iraqi finance minister survives bomb attack

Iraqi finance minister survives bomb attack

Agencies, Baghdad/Dubai/London

Iraqi Finance Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi survived an assassination attempt on Sunday, when a large car bomb exploded in his home street in central Baghdad, killing two people.

"I am fine. I was far away from the place where this explosion happened," Abdul Mahdi told Reuters by telephone.

The car blew up near his house in an affluent part of the capital's Karrada district near the Tigris river, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the sky.

Hospital sources said the bodies of a policeman and one of the minister's bodyguards had been brought in from the scene.

Abdul Mahdi is a senior official of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a powerful Shiite Muslim party.

It was the third large explosion in the capital within a few hours as insurgent attacks rise around the country ahead of an expected offensive by U.S.-led forces to capture the rebel-held towns of Falluja and Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

The U.S. military said the attack occurred near a church, but did not comment on whether the minister was targeted, adding that one U.S. soldier was wounded after a patrol sent to the scene of the blast came under fire.

At least three cars were on fire, according to an AFP correspondent. The area was immediately cordoned off by U.S. troops and Iraqi forces.

The U.S. military said the blast went off at about 3:15 p.m. (7:15 p.m. in Jakarta) a few hundred meters from the Virgin Mary Catholic Church killing one person and wounding another.

U.S. soldiers dispatched to the scene of the blast came under small arms fire wounding one soldier, said a military statement.

"One soldier was wounded and was evacuated to a Multi-National Forces medical treatment facility," it added.

Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite Muslim, is one of the top leaders of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) party headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.

SCIRI along with the Dawa party lead by interim Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari are among the main Shiite parties in Iraq expected to play a pivotal role in the planned January elections.

Karrada is a predominantly Shiite and Christian district.

In London, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that two British soldiers were injured on Sunday in a suicide bomb attack near their base southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

"We are aware of an incident that happened at 9:22 a.m. local time near Camp Dogwood," a ministry spokeswoman said. "There are two casualties. They are with the U.S. medical chain. They have been airlifted out by the Americans."

She confirmed to AFP that the soldiers had been targets of a suicide bomber, and that both had been seriously hurt.

The two soldiers were thought to be part of the Black Watch regiment, although they have not been named and their next of kin have yet to be informed.

In Najaf, twelve Iraqi National Guards were abducted and executed by militants dressed as policemen while traveling home to Najaf, an official with a leading Shiite party said on Sunday.

The 12 men were kidnapped, along with a guard who later managed to escape, and a driver of their convoy on Thursday near Latifiyah, about 32 kilometers south of Baghdad, said Abu Ali al- Najafi from SCIRI.

Al-Najafi, speaking from SCIRI offices in Najaf, said the kidnappers, disguised as policemen, stopped the Shiite convoy returning home after a visit to Baghdad.

The assailants, who later identified themselves as members of al-Furqan Brigade, tortured the driver, breaking his arm and sending him off with a ransom demand to their relatives, for payment of 1.5 million Iraqi dinars (US$1,000) for each "headless body of their dear one," Al-Najafi said.

The Iraqi National Guard is the centerpiece of U.S. efforts to build a strong Iraqi security force capable of taking over from American troops and restoring stability to the country.

In Dubai, an Iraqi militant group announced on Sunday it had killed two Arab translators it said worked for the U.S. Marines in Iraq, according to a statement posted on its website on Sunday.

The Army of Ansar al-Sunna said it shot dead Hussein Qasim Khalaf and Hassen Hadi Qassam "for spying on the mujahideen (holy fighters)".

It posted pictures of identity papers showing the men had worked as translators for U.S.-based Titan Systems Corporation, which provides information communication products and services to the U.S. military.