Iraq education minister escapes assassination bid | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Iraq education minister escapes assassination bid

None | ByAssociated Press, Baghdad
Jan 24, 2007 06:39 PM IST

The gunmen were hiding in nearby orchards when they struck the motorcade carrying Education Minister Abed Theyab.

Iraq's higher education minister, a Sunni, escaped an assassination attempt on Wednesday after gunmen opened fire on his motorcade as he was traveling in southern Baghdad, a spokesman said.

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The gunmen were hiding in nearby orchards when they struck the motorcade carrying Higher Education Minister Abed Theyab, killing one guard and seriously wounding another, ministry spokesman Basil al-Khatib said.

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The attack occurred in the lawless neighborhood of Dora, a Sunni insurgent stronghold in the capital.

The Sunni minister was involved in a dispute with Shiite members of the government late last year when he said as many as 80 people had been abducted in a brazen raid on the Higher Education Ministry compound in the capital.

Theyab briefly suspended his membership in the Shiite-controlled Cabinet, calling the lack of security that allowed such attacks "a farce," but he resumed his Cabinet post shortly afterward.

Also on Wednesday, a mortar attack struck a residential area in eastern Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding three others, while another one hit a neighbourhood on the western side of the capital, also killing a civilian and wounding others, police said.

A civilian also was killed and three were wounded in a drive-by shooting near Baqouba, northeast of the capital, police said.

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