Basra leader escapes assassination

Basra’s deputy governor, a key lieutenant to a radical Shiite cleric battling US troops, escaped an assassination attempt today.

A group of gunmen followed Salam al-Maliky from the local office of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s movement to Basra’s City Hall.

One man followed al-Maliky into the building and shot at him, an official said.

Police arrested the gunman, whose identity was not immediately known.

Al-Maliky was the firebrand cleric’s representative in the southern province, where the main British military contingent is based.

He had previously threatened to blow up oil pipelines and ports if a coalition offensive on al-Sadr’s militia did not stop.

He also warned that he would lead a drive for Basra and other southern areas to secede from Iraq.