Iraq finance minister escapes bomb attack on his convoy
Reuters, Jan 14, 2013

BAGHDAD: A roadside bomb hit Iraqi Finance Minister Rafaie al-Esawi’s convoy west of Baghdad as he left a meeting on Sunday, wounding two of his guards, his office and security sources said.

It was not clear whether Esawi was the target of the bombing. The Sunni Muslim minister is caught up in a crisis that has triggered protests in Sunni regions and is straining Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s power-sharing government.

“A roadside bomb exploded near his convoy. His car was not hit and he is safe, but two guards were wounded,” a spokesman for Esawi’s office said.

Police sources confirmed the convoy had been hit by shrapnel, but said there had been no injuries.

Thousands of Sunni Muslims have taken to the streets over the last three weeks to demonstrate against Maliki’s government [.....]

Suicide Bombings Kill 29 in Iraq

VOA News, Jan 16, 2013

A wave of attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed at least 29 people Wednesday, the deadliest violence to take place this year in a country increasingly divided along sectarian lines.

A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 100 by detonating a vehicle packed with explosives outside the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Kirkuk. A separate bomb exploded nearby [....]

In Baghdad, at least three separate attacks left six people dead, while bombings in Baiji, Hawija and Tikrit killed three more and wounded seven others [....]