Bomb Targets Iraqi Politicians' Offices

Iraqi police inspect the scene of a suicide car bomb attack just outside the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. The bombing took place in western Baghdad, less than 150 yards (meters) from a series of buildings that included offices of Ayad Allawi, Iraq's first post-Saddam prime minister and a secular Shiite, and those of Saleh al-Mutlaq, the head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, a Sunni bloc. Two guards were killed in the attack. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) (Khalid Mohammed - AP)

BAGHDAD -- A suicide car bomber struck in one of the capital's most heavily guarded neighborhoods Tuesday, killing two guards at a checkpoint near the home and offices of two prominent politicians, including the first prime minister after Saddam Hussein.

Both politicians were out of the country at the time.

The explosion took place in a neighborhood bordering the U.S.-protected Green Zone in western Baghdad, less than a quarter-mile from buildings that included the home and office compound of Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, and offices of Saleh al-Mutlaq, the head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, a Sunni political bloc.

It was the second bombing in two days to strike guards of Allawi, who is on a short list of possible future national leaders and a fierce critic of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

On Monday, police said a roadside bomb targeted a vehicle carrying guards for Allawi in the same neighborhood. Two guards were wounded, as were three policemen and a civilian, officials said.

Although the attacks caused few casualties, the fact that they occurred at all in a relatively secure part of the city is troublesome. U.S. troops have managed to shut down numerous car bomb factories around the city, reducing the number and intensity of bombings in recent months.

But U.S. commanders have warned that security in the capital is still fragile, despite marked improvements since last summer.

The suicide bomber Tuesday detonated his explosives at the first checkpoint along a street which includes both politicians' offices.

Al-Mutlaq, speaking from Amman, Jordan, said the bomber "claimed that he was an employee and had access." But police said the vehicle was speeding toward the checkpoint and the guards opened fire.

Al-Mutlaq confirmed reports by police and hospital officials that two guards were killed.

The offices are in a residential neighborhood, with many homes converted to work spaces. The area is convenient to the Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy is housed and the Iraqi government has its headquarters.

"Everyone is vulnerable," he told Al-Arabiya television. "We have been targeted by three groups _ the Americans, Iraqi forces and a suicide bomber. Everyone should wake up and do something to change this situation."