Iraqi deputy PM survives attack

BAGHDAD – Iraq’s deputy prime minister escaped an assassination attempt in which militants dressed as soldiers opened fire on his convoy west of Baghdad on Friday, according to an Iraqi lawmaker and a statement from the deputy premier’s office.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack – the latest violence as the country heads toward crucial parliamentary elections on April 30. But Islamic militants have in the past frequently targeted officials in their effort to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Sunni lawmaker Talal al-Zobaie said he was accompanying Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, also a Sunni, and several other government officials on a visit to the villages in the Abu Ghraib area, west of the Iraqi capital, when the attack took place Friday.

A group of armed men in army uniforms and driving military vehicles opened fire at their convoy, triggering a shootout with guards and soldiers protecting al-Mutlaq, said al-Zobaie.

Three of al-Mutlaq’s guards were wounded in the shootout.