Roadside bomb kills governor in Iraqi province

A bomb killed the governor of the Muthanna province in the south of Iraq on Monday. The killing of the governor became the second assassination of a top provincial official in just over a week in the war-torn country.

The blast struck the convoy carrying Mohammed Ali al-Hassani at about 9 a.m., killing him and seriously wounding his office manager and two guards, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

On Aug. 11, the governor and police chief of another southern province, Qadasiyah, also were killed in a roadside bombing attack.

Both governors were members of the influential Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a group led by Shiite politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim whose loyalists have been fighting the Mahdi Army militia for control of the oil-rich south.

Muthanna was the first province that was transferred to Iraqi control last year.