Iraqi Minister of Higher Education Sami al-Mudhafar survived an assassination when a car bomb blew up near his convoy in central Baghdad on Wednesday, which killed a policeman and wounded three people, an Interior Ministry source said.

"A booby-trapped car parking by the roadside detonated near Uqba Bin Nafi Square at about 9:45 a.m. (0645 GMT) when the convoy of Sami al-Mudhafar, minister of Higher Education, was passing by, " the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Mudhafar survived unhurt, but a policeman was killed and three people wounded, including two of the minister's bodyguards, the source said.

Separately, a roadside bomb went off near a police patrol in eastern Baghdad near the al-Mustansriyah fuel station, wounding three policemen, he said.

Insurgents frequently attack Iraqi government employees and security forces in an attempt to cripple the U.S.-backed political process in the country.

Source: Xinhua