Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi high-ranking official survived a bomb explosion on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

    Ammar Aziz Muhammad Ali, undersecretary of Higher Education Ministry, escaped unhurt when a roadside bomb went off near his convoy in the Nidhal Street in Baghdad central district of Karrada, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The blast wounded two of Ali's bodyguards and two bystanders, along with damaging one of his convoy's vehicles, the source said.

    Last Thursday, the minister of Higher Education himself escaped unhurt a similar attack near his convoy in the same district.

    In separate incident, two civilians were wounded when a roadside bomb went off in the neighborhood of Zaiyounah in east of the capital, the source added.

    Another civilian was injured in the day when a roadside bomb detonated at an intersection in the Shaab district in northern Baghdad, he said.

    Despite the security gains in recent months in Iraq, there are still sporadic bombings, which shape setback to the Iraqi government.