Senior police officer escapes suicide bombing in Iraq's Diyala

A senior Iraqi police officer escaped a suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala on Saturday, at least killing a civilian and wounding seven others, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

The incident occurred around midday when a suicide car bomber struck the convoy of Colonel Mudhaffar al-Magdamy, deputy police chief of Diyala province, while travelling in northern the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The blast killed a passer-by and wounded Magdamy, two of his bodyguards and four passers-by, the source said citing first police reports.

The powerful blast damaged one of the convoy's vehicles and set fire to three nearby shops and two civilian cars, the source added.

Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the breakout of Iraq's war in 2003.

Source: Xinhua

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