I wasn’t there when blast occurred: science minister

Science-Minister BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmi said on Tuesday that the blast that targeted his motorcade earlier in the day took place when he was not present. “I was not in the motorcade when the blast took place and my bodyguard who was injured has left the hospital after receiving treatment from small wounds,” Fahmi told IraqiNews.com by phone. “The blast took place by a car bomb,” he noted. A police source had said earlier three civilians were wounded on Tuesday in a car bomb explosion targeted the motorcade of Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmi in southern Baghdad. “A car crammed with explosives went off near the Babel hotel in southern Baghdad, targeting the motorcade of the Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmi, injuring three persons, including one of the minister’s bodyguards,” the source told IraqiNews.com. He gave no further details. SH (P)/SR 1