Key sahwa leader survives attempt

ANBAR / IraqiNews.com: A leader of a sahwa (awakening) group survived an assassination attempt with an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to his vehicle in eastern al-Falluja city on Saturday, according to a local police source in al-Anbar province. “Sheikh Hikmat Muhammad, a leader of the al-Karma District Sahwa Group, escaped an attempt on his life with an IED attached by unidentified persons to his civilian vehicle in eastern Falluja,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The blast only caused some injuries to Muhammad and caused damage to his vehicle,” he added. Sheikh Muhammad, alias the Sahwa Shield, was one of the earlier anti-Al-Qaeda sahwa commanders in al-Karma district. He was known to have played a prominent role in tracking down armed groups during the past years. Falluja, the largest city in the predominantly Sunni province of al-Anbar, lies 45 km west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P)/SR 2