Iraq's first lady unhurt after roadside bombing
Sunday, 04 May 2008 18:19
Iraq's first lady unharmed after motorcade struck by roadside bomb in central Baghdad
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Iraq's first lady has escaped unharmed after her motorcade was struck by a bomb in central Baghdad earlier today.
Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, the wife of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, was heading to the al-Mada cultural festival when the explosion took place.
Four soldiers and two civilians were wounded in the blast, but Ms Hiro Ibrahim was unhurt.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, with security forces investigating whether the first lady was its target.
"One of the vehicles of Ms Hiro Ibrahim's convoy hit an improvised explosive device in the road this morning," a statement from the president's office said.
"She was heading to the National Theatre to attend a cultural festival."
Elsewhere in Iraq, the US-led coalition said a roadside bomb in Anbar had killed four of its marines, while missiles continued to be fired into the Shia Muslim Sadr City.
Unrest has escalated in Iraq in recent months as radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army renewed clashes with Iraqi troops.