By Xinhua
Baghdad : A roadside bomb explosion killed the mayor of Iskandriya town in Babel province south of Baghdad along with four of his bodyguards on Thursday, a provincial police source said.
“A roadside bomb went off near the procession of Abbas Hamza al-Khafaji, mayor of Iskandriya town, some 50 km south of Baghdad, while heading to his work in the morning, killing him, four of his bodyguards and wounding another,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The powerful blast destroyed two vehicles of Khafaji’s convoy, including his vehicle, the source said.
Also in Iskandriya, gunmen shot dead late on Wednesday night Brigadier Ihsan al-Tai, an police officer in the town, the source added.
Iskandriya along with several major towns in Babel province are known as the “Triangle of Death,” which is the hotbed of both anti-U.S. insurgency and sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shiite inhabitants.