Iraq’s Basra police chief escapes assassination bid a day after clashes between the Mehdi Army militia of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and local security forces
October 25, 2007 6:13 am Basra, Mahdi Army, IraqIraq’s Basra police chief escapes assassination bid | Reuters, October 24, 2007
BAGHDAD, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The police chief of Iraq’s southern city of Basra said he escaped an assassination attempt on Wednesday by gunmen who opened fire at him from rooftops while he was getting into his car.
Major-General Abdul-Jelil Khalaf told Reuters by telephone that one of his bodyguards was wounded in the attack at a bustling outdoor market in the centre of Basra, Iraq’s second largest city.
The shooting came a day after clashes between the Mehdi Army militia of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and local security forces in the city. The militiamen freed an imprisoned comrade from the main police headquarters.