A roadside bomb went off near a convoy carrying Iraqi generals in a Shi'ite militia stronghold in the southern city of Basra on Wednesday, but the officials were unhurt, one of the officers said. Major-General Mohammed al-Askari, spokesman for Iraq's Defence Ministry, said he was in a convoy with Basra's security chief, Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Firaiji, when the explosion took place in the Hayaniya neighborhood.
"It was a roadside bomb. It exploded near our vehicles but nothing happened to myself or Firaiji," Askari told Reuters after the blast. An Iraqi television correspondent was injured in the leg, Askari said.
There were reports of sporadic clashes in Basra on Wednesday, but Askari denied there had been any fresh fighting. Overall, Basra was relatively calm for a third straight day on Wednesday.
