A high-ranking official in the Iraqi Education Ministry survived assassination attempt by gunmen in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, killing two of his bodyguards, an Interior Ministry source said.

"Habib Abdul Hussein al-Shemmary, a director general in the Education Ministry, escaped unhurt when gunmen opened fire on his convoy in Zaiyouna neighborhood," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attack caused damages in the convoy's vehicles, killing two bodyguards aboard, the source said.

In separate incident, a roadside bomb went off in the morning on a highway near Baghdad's University of Technology in eastern the capital, killing two civilians and wounding another, the source said.

"Obviously, the bomb attack targeted passing police patrols on the highway but missed the target," the source added.

Source: Xinhua