Baghdad official survives assassination attempt

Governor of the Salahuddin district in central Baghdad Ahmed Abdullah al-Jubouri has survived an assassination attempt after a roadside bomb targeted his convoy north of Tikrit. It is the second attempt on his life in less than two weeks. A police source in Salahuddin told Arabstoday that "a bomb targeting the convoy of Ahmed Abdallah, exploded on Wednesday morning in the industrial district of Marwa north of Tikrit. The explosion resulted in material damage but the Governor was unharmed.” Speaking under the condition of anonymity the source said that "the governor was on his way to his office when the bomb exploded.” This is the second assassination attempt the governor has faced in less than ten days. On May 21, he survived two bomb blasts which had targeted at his motorcade. The district of Salahuddin, especially the city of Tikrit, has witnessed an escalation in violence recently after the Iraqi army stormed a peaceful protest in Hawija on April 23. On Tuesday three relatives of the Vice Chairman of the Board of Salahuddin Sabhan Mulla, died in an attack in the neighbourhood of Farouk (7 km west of Baiji). Four members of US funded security force Sahwa were killed and wounded in an armed attack carried out by unknown assailants at a checkpoint on the highway east of Tikrit. Meanwhile, police have arrested 16 people wanted for violations of the Article IV Anti-terrorism Act.