Iraqi vice president survives bomb blast during speech

IRAQ’S Shi’ite vice president escaped an apparent assassination attempt yesterday after a bomb exploded in municipal offices where he was making a speech, knocking him down with the force of the blast that left at least 10 people dead.

Adel Abdul-Mahdi was bruised and hospitalised for medical exams. Police initially blamed the attack on a bomb-rigged car, but later said the explosives were planted inside the building.

The attack sent another message that suspected Sunni militants could strike anywhere despite a major security crackdown across the capital. Hours before the blast, US military teams with bomb-sniffing dogs combed the building.