Sepcial Report:Tension accelerates in Iraq

   BAGHDAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The deputy head of provincial council of Diyala governorate in northeast of Baghdad escaped unhurt when a roadside bomb struck his convoy in Baquba city on Sunday, a police source said.

    "A roadside bomb detonated near the convoy of Dhari al-Khaiyoun,deputy head of Diyala provincial council, while he was heading to his work on the main road between Kana'an and Baquba, but the blast cause no casualties," the source said.

    Earlier in the day, the governor of the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh Duraid Kashmoolah escaped an assassination attempt on Sunday, but the chief of his bodyguards was wounded, a local police source said.

    Unknown gunmen opened fire at Kashmoolah while he was visiting Marakish gas station in Mosul city, the source said, adding that the governor escaped the attempt unhurt, but the chief of his bodyguards, Col. Muhammed al-Waggaa, was wounded.

    Mosul has been in the grip of the most serious fuel crises since the U.S.-led war on Iraq started in 2003, forcing drivers to spend more than a day queuing for petrol.

    Insurgents frequently attack senior officials and security forces, accusing them of collaboration with U.S. occupation forces.Enditem