DOHA, Sept 4 (AFP) - The militant Islamic Army in Iraq claimed responsibility for an assassination attempt against Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi, in a video shown Saturday by the Arabic-language satellite television network Al-Jazeera.
Quoting a captive bodyguard, the channel said that the Sunni Muslim militant group which is believed to have kidnapped two French journalists had killed three of Chalabi's bodyguards in the attack as well as detaining another.
The Islamic Army in Iraq said in the video that "the hostage, who was wounded during the attempted assassination of Chalabi, died as a result of his wounds," Al-Jazeera reported.
Contacted by AFP, Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress said: "It's true that a party member was abducted but we believe he is in good health."
The source, who did not wish to be identified, said no ransom had been demanded by the assailants.
"We asked the government to send a force to Latifiya (a Sunni insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad) to retrieve a vehicle where we believe there are still two bodies but have received no answer.
"We sent a force from the party but they were confronted by gunmen. Clashes erupted and four of our people were wounded," he said.
Al-Jazeera reported the bodyguard had talked about "Ahmed Chalabi's relations with the American Congress and with Iran."
But the official retorted that "there is nothing they could have discovered because Mr. Chalabi has been doing his work transparently."
Chalabi, who escaped unharmed from the assassination attempt, had given reporters an account of the ambush on Thursday.
"I was coming back from Najaf, where I had met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani the previous day, and when we reached Latifiya, a car started following us and opened fire on our convoy," he said.
Chalabi, a leading figure in the exiled opposition to Saddam Hussein before last year's US-led invasion, fell out of favour with his longtime US sponsors over allegations he had leaked classified intelligence to Iran.
The Islamic Army in Iraq follows the strict Wahabist school of Islam and has already claimed responsibility for several abductions and executions in Iraq, including the killing of Italian reporter Enzo Baldoni last month.
The militant group thought to be based mainly in Fallujah has demanded Paris lift a controversial ban on headscarves in state schools to secure the release of French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot.