Iraq minister unhurt by bomb near convoy

A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy carrying Iraq's Higher Education Minister Abd Thiab al-Ajili today, wounding two civilians, but the minister was unhurt, police said.

A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy carrying Iraq's Higher Education Minister Abd Thiab al-Ajili today, wounding two civilians, but the minister was unhurt, police said.

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A spokeswoman for the ministry said the bomb went off shortly after the convoy had passed on a street in central Baghdad. He said the ministry did not believe Ajili was the intended target of the strike.

In a separate incident, one Iraqi soldier and three civilians were wounded by a roadside bomb near an Iraqi army patrol in Nidhal Street, in central Karrada district.

Violence in Iraq has fallen dramatically over the past 18 months, but roadside bomb attacks are still a daily occurrence, frequently targeting convoys of soldiers, police or officials.