15 July 2004	Thursday	26 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

BAGHDAD, July 14: Gunmen killed the governor of the Iraqi city of Mosul and two of his bodyguards on Wednesday as he was driving in a convoy of vehicles towards Baghdad.

The day also witnessed a suspected suicide car bombing in Baghdad that killed 11 people and wounded 30.

An interior ministry official said attackers threw a grenade at the vehicle carrying Governor Osama Kashmoula and fired automatic weapons. "He was on his way to Baghdad with a security escort of four cars, when the attackers in another car pulled up beside his vehicle and threw a grenade, and then shot at his car," said the official.

Governorate spokesman Hazem Jalawi said in an exchange of fire after the governor's convoy was ambushed, the four assailants were also shot dead. He said the assailants were killed when other guards shot back. He said the attack took place in the T'lul al-Baj region, 110km south of Mosul at about 5.30pm.

The governor and dead bodyguards were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Baiji, some 300km north of Baghdad.

BAGHDAD BLAST: A suspected suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in the heavily defended 'Green Zone' killed at least 11 people and injured 30. A US military spokesman said 11 Iraqis had been killed, including four National Guards, and 30 wounded.

Deafened passersby and a man with blood oozing from his chest staggered from the site of the explosion. "My God, my God," screamed one panicked woman among the scores of workers, visitors and journalists lining up for security checks to get into the US-defended area.

Prime Minister Iyad Allawi termed the incident a naked aggression against the Iraqi people. "We will bring these criminals to justice," he vowed standing by burnt-out vehicles near a main entrance to the 'Green Zone' compound.

Iraq's interim president, Ghazi al-Yawar, told reporters the authorities would defeat those behind violence and stabilize the country, though this might take six months or a year.

"This is terrorism. It could happen in any capital in this world when there is someone crazy enough to ride in a car full of dynamite," Mr Yawar said after the bombing. The blast occurred hours after news that militants had killed one of two Bulgarian truck drivers held hostage in Iraq.

They threatened to kill the second within 24 hours unless US-led forces freed prisoners. Bulgaria said it would not pull its 470 troops out of Iraq despite the killing of the driver and the plight of the other.

In stark contrast, the Philippines was preparing to bring its soldiers home early to save the life of a Filipino hostage. "He is safe and there is no more risk of him being executed," said a Foreign Ministry official in Manila, referring to kidnapped truck driver Angelo de la Cruz.

SECURITY NIGHTMARE: The site of Wednesday's blast has long been recognized as a tempting target for bombers, but despite elaborate fortifications, people forced to wait just outside the zone have remained vulnerable.

"At 9:15am this morning a vehicle pulled into the search lane and tried to get into the control point and detonated," a US officer said. "We're pretty sure it was a suicide bomber."

Prime Minister Allawi said he believed the bomb attack was a response to a crackdown on criminals, referring to police raids that have netted more than 500 suspects in Baghdad this week.

Militants clashed with a US patrol in the western city of Ramadi, a bastion of resistance fighter, and a hospital doctor said three people had been killed and 19 wounded. Iraqi police officer Nawaf Jabbar said a US vehicle had been destroyed and several soldiers wounded in gunbattles. There was no immediate comment from the US military.

The Baghdad bombing coincided with a public holiday to mark Iraq's 1958 coup that toppled the British-backed monarchy. Death threats still hung over three foreign hostages in Iraq - the second Bulgarian, the Filipino and an Egyptian driver.

Al Jazeera television said it would not air a video tape from a militant group showing the beheading of the Bulgarian. But it showed him in a blindfold and an orange jumpsuit kneeling before three masked men.

Bulgarian media identified the dead man as Georgi Lazov, 30. He was kidnapped with Ivailo Kepov, 32, after they had delivered cars in the northern city of Mosul on June 27.

RISKS IGNORED: Despite the huge risks involved in becoming a prominent face in Iraq, Osama Kashmoula took the job of governor after it was turned down by another senior figure in the restive city.

Dr H.S. al-Dewachi recently told AFP that he opted against taking the position because of the risk. "I am a family man and I run a medical clinic so I cannot take such risks with my life," he explained.

Mr Kashmoula, a professor at the university's institute of agriculture, became governor four months ago after being chosen by a group of local dignitaries. The professor, in his 50s, was born and raised in Mosul and had no specific political affiliation.

After news of the assassination broke, officials in Mosul brought forward a curfew that was installed in the city since the car bombings to 9:30pm until 6am, instead of from 11pm. A state of alert has been declared in Mosul, the biggest city in northern Iraq, which is frequently targeted by militants fighting against the US occupation which ended officially just over two weeks ago.

In an assassination in Baghdad, Sabir Karim, a director general at the industry ministry, was shot dead while leaving his house on Tuesday morning to go to work, officials said. -Reuters/AFP