By Xinhua,
Baghdad : Ra’ad al-Mulla Jawad, governor of Iraq’s Diyala province on Tuesday escaped unhurt a suicide vest bombing in the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, a local police source said.
The incident occurred shortly before midday when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest struck the convoy of Jawad in central Baquba, damaging two vehicles of his convoy and a nearby civilian car, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Three civilians were killed and three others wounded by the powerful blast, the source said, adding the Iraqi security forces immediately cordoned off the scene, allowing ambulances to evacuate the casualties.
Meanwhile, the local authorities of Diyala have imposed a curfew on Baquba in a bid to curb violence there, according to the same source.
The suicide attack is the second in the city in 24 hours after a woman wearing an explosive vest blew herself up at a police station, killing a policeman and wounding nine policemen and eight civilians, the police said.
The attacks in Diyala province came as U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces are conducting major offensive against extremist Sunni and Shiite militiamen in Diyala which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border.