Iraqi Finance Minister survives assassination attempt

Sunni Minister Essawi has supported nationwide protests inside Iraq Baghdad – Arabstoday Iraq's Finance Minister, who has been locked in dispute with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, escaped an alleged assassination attempt on Sunday when his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb .
Rafa al-Essawi's convoy had been travelling between the towns of Fallujah and Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, when the bomb went off at around 1900 hrs [1600 hrs GMT], two security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
No-one in Essawi's entourage was harmed but some of the vehicles were damaged, the officials claimed.
The blast comes amid a political crisis. Weeks of anti-government demonstrations in Sunni Arab majority areas have hardened opposition against the Shiite premier.
Maliki is at loggerheads with his erstwhile government partners in the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc over its accusations of authoritarianism and sectarianism in the run-up to key provincial polls.
The demonstrations in Sunni areas have decried alleged misuse of counter-terrorism laws to hold members of the minority community, meanwhile claiming Sunnis are being targeted by the Shiite-led authorities.
The Iraqi Prime Minister has countered with a threat to order security forces to disperse the protests, which were sparked by the December 20 arrest of at least nine of Essawi's guards.
Essawi is a leading member of the Iraqiya bloc, which, while a member of Maliki's unity government, has called for him to quit.
Powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose movement counts 40 members of parliament and five ministers among its ranks, has also publicly opposed Maliki.
The protests come with barely three months to go before provincial elections, a key barometer of support for Maliki and his opponents ahead of a general election next year.
Source: AFP