Sadrist lawmaker injured by bomb blast in Baghdad

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A Sadrist lawmaker was seriously injured on Thursday in a bomb explosion in eastern Baghdad, a medical source said. “Saleh al-Eikeli was injured and his bodyguard was killed when the explosive charge went off near al-Habibiya exhibitions in eastern Baghdad,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “He was rushed to the nearby al-Sadr hospital and then was moved to the Ibn al-Nafees hospital for the seriousness of his condition,” he explained. The Sadrist bloc has 30 seats out of the 275-seat parliament. Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and Baghdad province. With a municipal population estimated at 7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq. It is the second largest city in the Arab world (after Cairo) and the second largest city in southwest Asia (after Tehran). Located on the Tigris River, the city dates back to at least the 8th century, and probably to pre-Islamic times. Once the center of Dar al-Islam (the abode of Islam), Baghdad has been a center of violent conflict since 2003 because of the ongoing Iraq war. Baghdad’s population is a mix of Sunnis and Shiites. It is mainly divided into two sides: the west (al-Karkh) and the east (al-Rasafa). SH (S) 1