KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) — The head of an anti-Qaeda militia survived a truck bombing in Iraq's northern oil city of Kirkuk, the ninth assassination attempt against him, police said on Wednesday.
A suicide bomber blocked the path of Abdel Karim Ensayef al-Juburi's motorcade on Tuesday then blew up the explosives-rigged vehicle, Captain Hassan al-Juburi told AFP.
But Juburi and five bodyguards all escaped with only injuries.
Alias Abu Seif al-Kidawi, Juburi heads a 1,000-strong US-backed militia in one of the most strategic and dangerous districts of Iraq, the Al-Muntaka neighbourhood of Kirkuk where pipelines serving the province's oilfields meet.
Oil infrastructure in the neighbourhood has been a repeated target for sabotage attempts by Sunni insurgents, particularly those loyal to Al-Qaeda.
His militia is one of dozens around Iraq set up with the backing of the US military since 2006 to make common cause against al-Qaeda. The great majority are manned by Sunni Arab tribesmen or former rebels.
A colourful character with four wives and 19 children at the age of 39, Juburi was a businessman under executed president Saddam Hussein's regime before being jailed for smuggling.
He was freed by US troops during the invasion of 2003.
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