Governor gunned down in convoy ambush

Gunmen assassinated a provincial governor yesterday, hours after a suicide attacker detonated a massive car bomb that killed at least 10 and wounded 40, in the worst attack in Baghdad since the United States handed power to an Iraqi interim government on June 28.

Meanwhile, a Saudi company employing an Egyptian driver held hostage by militants in Iraq said it would stop work in the country to win the captive’s freedom.

The move, reported by pan-Arab satellite television Al-Jazeera, came after the Philippines said it had begun withdrawing its small peacekeeping contingent from Iraq early, apparently giving in to the demand of kidnappers threatening to kill a captive Filipino truck driver.

In Baghdad, a car packed with 1,000lbs of explosives went off yesterday morning at a checkpoint just outside the so-called Green Zone, former home to the US occupation government and currently home to the Iraqi interim government and the US and British embassies.

The blast killed 10 Iraqis, many as they waited in line to apply for jobs with the government, the health ministry said.

The blast ripped a deep crater in the road, left five cars charred skeletons and partially destroyed a blast wall meant to protect the area. Black smoke rose from the scene.

“I’m sure that those who committed this were targeting the Iraqi defence ministry and its employees, not Americans,” said Air Force Staff Col Ather Burham Shafiq, 39, as he lay in al-Karama Hospital with a broken leg and shrapnel wounds.

Hours later, militants tossed hand grenades and fired machine guns at a convoy transporting Nineveh governor Osama Youssef Kashmoula, killing him and two of his guards, Iraqi and US military officials said. Mosul is the largest city in Nineveh province.

Kashmoula was attacked between the cities of Beiji and Tikrit north of Baghdad as he travelled to the capital, the US military said. Four of the attackers were killed in the fight.

Rebels have repeatedly attacked local officials, who are seen as being collaborators with American forces, but had not a killed an official as senior as Kashmoula since the assassinations last month of Iraq’s most senior career diplomat and a top education ministry official.

Gunmen also killed Sabir Karim, an industry ministry auditor, in a drive-by shooting on Tuesday as he was leaving his Baghdad office, authorities said. Karim is the second auditor in Iraq’s fledgling interim government to be targeted for assassination.

Interim prime minister Iyad Allawi said the bombing was retaliation for the government’s arrests of terror suspects.

“This is a naked aggression against the Iraqi people,” Allawi said as he toured the bombing scene in Baghdad. “We will bring these criminals to justice.”

Faisal al-Naheet, owner of the unidentified Saudi company employing the kidnapped Egyptian, told Al-Jazeera television that his company “will stop our work in Iraq in order to save the life of the hostage who works for us as a driver”.

It was unclear if al-Naheet meant the company was about to leave Iraq or was awaiting developments in the hostage’s case before withdrawing.

Al-Jazeera reported earlier that the Iraqi Legitimate Resistance group that kidnapped the Egyptian, 42-year-old Alsayeid Mohammed Alsayeid Algarabawi, demanded the Saudi company leave Iraq within 72 hours. The group issued no specific threat.

Al-Naheet said the kidnappers also were demanding a €972,900 ransom, but he said the company would not pay.

The Philippines said it was working to withdraw its 51-member peacekeeping force, a move aimed at saving the life of Angelo dela Cruz.

The withdrawal was criticised by some as caving in to terrorists, but Filipino officials said now was not the time for debate.

“What is important now is the safety of Angelo,” Vice President Noli di Castro said in a statement.

Another militant group headed by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi killed one of two Bulgarian truck drivers it was holding hostage, the Bulgarian government confirmed yesterday.

In a video shown on Al-Jazeera, the group, which had demanded the release of Iraqi detainees, said it would kill the second man in 24 hours.

Since taking power more than two weeks ago, Allawi’s government has made it clear it intended to crack down on rebels who have caused chaos in the country for nearly 15 months with assassinations, car bombings, sabotage and other attacks.

The violence has greatly hampered efforts to rebuild and recover after war and years of sanctions.