Roadside bomb in Baghdad kills local politician

A roadside bomb has hit a convoy carrying a member of Baghdad’s local government, killing him and wounding eight people, a spokesman for Baghdad’s Provincial Council said.

Insurgents have often targeted Iraqi politicians and government officials who have been bickering for months over the make-up of a new government and who should lead the country after parliamentary election in March produced no clear winner.

The council’s spokesman, Mohammed Hashim, said the politician, Jassim al Saiedi, was heading to work this morning when a bomb detonated in central Baghdad at 8.15am local time. Mr Hashim said three of Mr al Saiedi’s guards and five bystanders were wounded in the attack which occurred in Baghdad’s al Nahda area.

Mr al Saiedi was the head of the council’s committee that supervises public services in the Iraqi capital.

Police and hospital officials confirmed Mr al Saiedi’s death and the number of injured in the attack. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The attack occurred as the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al Maliki, who narrowly lost the March 7 vote to a Sunni-backed Iraqiya block led by rival Ayad Allawi, was on a key visit to Iran to boost ties with the Shiite powerhouse as he struggles to win a second term in office.