| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
BAGHDAD: Iraq's Deputy Oil Minister Saheb Salman Qutub survived an assassination attempt on Monday as the Iraqi capital was hit by three bomb attacks, killing six people and wounding at least 20 more.
Qutub, who oversees the country's crude oil production, was leaving his home in the northern neighbourhood of Ataifiyah when the roadside bomb detonated, the ministry and police said.
"(He) escaped the assassination attempt by improvised explosive device close to his house on Monday morning," a ministry statement said.
Qutub was treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital and discharged, it said. His more seriously wounded driver was hospitalised.
The attack came after two almost simultaneous rush hour bombings hit Baghdad's central commercial district of Karrada, killing six people and wounding at least 20 others.
Security officials said insurgents had set the two bombs near the office of the police crime investigation unit. The force of the blasts blew out store windows in the busy retail area.
Monday's attacks were the first to be reported in Baghdad in five days and showed that despite the decline in violence, insurgents are still capable of striking the heavily guarded capital at will.
Last week militants blew up a water pipeline in Baghdad's Sunni bastion of Adhamiyah, disrupting the supply of drinking water to hundreds of thousands of residents.
The October 30 attack came after a roadside bomb exploded in front of a juice stall in central Baghdad's Palestine Street, killing five people and wounding another 13.
Nevertheless the US military has said that Baghdad is now much safer, averaging four attacks a day or 89 per cent fewer than in 2006 and 83 per cent lower than in 2007.
The US military also says that levels of violence nationwide have fallen to four-year lows.
Iraqi security officials also say monthly casualty levels across the country have dropped.
In October, 317 civilians and security personnel were killed in insurgent and militia violence, a fall of 28 per cent on September.
Last month 44 militants were also killed and 855 arrested.
While no comparative figures were given for October 2007, the monthly casualty figures this year show a downward trend over the past few months. In July, 465 people were killed while in June the toll was more than 500.
The US military, meanwhile, reported at least 13 soldiers killed in October, making it the lowest monthly toll so far this year on a par with July, according to independent website www.icasualties.org.
At least 4,189 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion, according to an AFP count based on the website.
- AFP/yt
|
