Falluja chieftain escapes attempt on his life

ANBAR / IraqiNews.com: A renowned chieftain in al-Anbar province escaped an assassination attempt with an improvised explosive device (IED) that targeted his motorcade near al-Falluja, leaving three of his bodyguards wounded, according to a security source on Sunday. “An IED emplaced on a roadside in the village of Ahsi went off near the motorcade of Sheikh Taleb al-Hassanawi, a senior chieftain of the al-Bu Issa clans, in Amiriyat al-Falluja district,” a police source in Falluja told Iraqi News. “Hassanawi survived the attempt unscathed but three of his guards were wounded and two vehicles of his motorcade were damaged,” the source added. He said the wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and a security cordon was imposed on the scene of the explosion. Falluja, the largest city in the predominantly Sunni province of al-Anbar, lies 45 km west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad . AmR (P)/SR 1