BASRA, Iraq - A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy carrying Iraqi generals in a Shia militia stronghold in the southern city of Basra on Wednesday, but the officials were unhurt, one of the officers said. Major-General Mohammed Al-Askari, spokesman for IraqÂ’s Defence Ministry, said he was in a convoy with BasraÂ’s security chief, Lieutenant-General Mohan Al-Firaiji, when the blast went off in the Hayaniya neighbourhood. The neighbourhood is a stronghold of the Mehdi Army militia of cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr and was the scene of major clashes last week between security forces and militiamen.
“It was a roadside bomb. It exploded near our vehicles but nothing happened to myself or Firaiji,” Askari told Reuters after the blast.
An Iraqi television correspondent was wounded in the leg, Askari said, adding that he might have been hit by a bullet.
There were reports of sporadic clashes in Basra on Wednesday, but Askari denied there had been any fresh fighting. |