Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A Sunni Member of Parliament escaped an assassination attempt on Sunday when a roadside bomb hit his convoy in western Baghdad, wounding two of his bodyguards, well-informed police source said.

    "A roadside bomb detonated before noon near the convoy of Omer Abdul Sattar, a member of the Iraqi Consensus Front, who survived unhurt," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    Sattar's convoy was travelling near the Yarmouk Hospital in western Baghdad when the attack took place, the source added.

    A vehicle of Sattar's convoy was badly charred by the blast, wounding two of his bodyguards aboard, he said.

    The Iraqi Consensus Front, a major Sunni bloc, has 44 seats in Iraq's 275-seat parliament.