Baghdad - A senior Iraqi army officer and a police chief survived an assassination attempt on their motorcade in Basra Saturday, an Iraqi police spokesman said. An explosive charge targeted the motorcade of Iraqi military operations commander in Basra Mohan Hafez and provisional police chief Abdul-Jalil Najiya in Basra city, 590 kilometres south of Baghdad. Four security guards were wounded, two of them seriously, the source added.
This is the second attack on the military commander and the seventh on the police chief since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki appointed them three months ago.
The Iraqi government is expected to take over Basra's security from British forces in mid-December.
