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Second Iraqi governor assassinated
A roadside bomb today killed the governor of Muthanna province in southern Iraq, the second attack killing a province's top official in just over a week.
The blast struck the four-wheel drive vehicle carrying Mohammed Ali al-Hassani at about 9am local time (6am BST), shortly after leaving his home in Rumaitha for his office in the provincial capital, Samawah, about 230 miles south-east of Baghdad.
Mr Hassani's driver and a guard were also killed, while his office manager and two other guards were seriously wounded, police said. A curfew was imposed on Samawah and new checkpoints set up.
On August 11 a roadside bomb killed Khalil Jalil Hamza, the governor of the southern province of Qadisiyah, and his police chief, Major General Khalid Hassan. The pair had been returning to the provincial capital, Diwaniyah, from a funeral for a tribal sheikh.
Both governors were members of the influential Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a group led by the Shia politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, whose supporters have been fighting the Mahdi Army militia, led by Moqtada al-Sadr, for control of southern Iraq as British forces gradually withdraw. Police quickly blamed the latest bombing on the Mahdi Army, which has been involved in several recent clashes with its rivals.
The latest violence came as Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, arrived in Syria for his first visit to Damascus since he took office in May 2006. The US has accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq, a charge Damascus has denied.
More
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2152619,00.html
Mr Hassani's driver and a guard were also killed, while his office manager and two other guards were seriously wounded, police said. A curfew was imposed on Samawah and new checkpoints set up.
On August 11 a roadside bomb killed Khalil Jalil Hamza, the governor of the southern province of Qadisiyah, and his police chief, Major General Khalid Hassan. The pair had been returning to the provincial capital, Diwaniyah, from a funeral for a tribal sheikh.
Both governors were members of the influential Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a group led by the Shia politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, whose supporters have been fighting the Mahdi Army militia, led by Moqtada al-Sadr, for control of southern Iraq as British forces gradually withdraw. Police quickly blamed the latest bombing on the Mahdi Army, which has been involved in several recent clashes with its rivals.
The latest violence came as Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, arrived in Syria for his first visit to Damascus since he took office in May 2006. The US has accused Syria of allowing foreign fighters to cross into Iraq, a charge Damascus has denied.
More
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2152619,00.html
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The governor, Mohammed Ali al-Hasani, was killed when the bomb exploded next to his convoy as it drove through the provincial capital, Samawa, police say.
Several bodyguards were also injured in the explosion, which happened at 0800 local time (0400 GMT).
Mr Hasani belonged to the largest Shia party in Iraq, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SiiC).
He is the second Shia governor killed this month.
The governor of Diwaniya, Khalil Jalil Hamza, was killed by a roadside bomb along with police chief Maj-Gen Khaled Hassan.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6954467.stm