BAGHDAD, Sept 7 (AFP) - Baghdad governor Ali al-Haidri narrowly escaped a bomb assassination attempt on his life Tuesday that left two civilians seriously wounded, officials said.
"There was an attempt to assassinate the Baghdad governor," said interior ministry spokesman Colonel Adnan Abdul Rahman.
"At around 9 am (0500 GMT), militants opened fire at his convoy and then detonated a car bomb... The governor is safe. There are victims but we don't know how many."
However, a police investigator on the scene in Baghdad's western al-Adel district said the bomb was actually a small booby trap device planted in a pothole.
"A large number of gunmen started firing at his convoy, pushing it toward where the bomb was planted," police officer Ahmed Jassim told AFP.
Militants detonated the bomb, but a civilian vehicle was caught in front of the governor's convoy and shielded it from the force of the blast.
"The bomb exploded. It hit a car with a man and woman inside," he said, adding that the two were seriously injured and taken to hospital.
Militants have killed hundreds of people working with the US forces in Iraq, from police and professionals to politicians.