Attackers fired a rocket at a Baghdad mosque in an apparent attempt to kill Iraqi Shi'ite leader and Governing Council member Abdul Aziz al-Hakim yesterday, but he survived.
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim succeeded his brother Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim as leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) after he was killed in a bomb attack in the holy city of Najaf in August.
His son Mohsen al-Hakim said the attackers fired a Russian-made rocket from gardens near the mosque yesterday but it failed to explode. No one was injured. He blamed the attack on supporters of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The attack took place on the same day guerrillas fired Russian-made Katyusha rockets from donkey carts at Iraq's Oil Ministry and two Baghdad hotels used by Westerners.
Guerrillas have launched increasingly audacious attacks on US-led occupying troops, foreign organisations and Iraqis working with them. Many foreign organisations have quit, following suicide car bomb attacks.
SCIRI is one of the main groups representing Iraq's Shi'ite majority but has been criticised by some for its readiness to work with the US-led administration.Iranian-backed SCIRI campaigned for years against Saddam's rule and its leaders returned from Iran in May after Saddam's all.
Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim was killed along with 82 others in a devastating car-bomb blast outside the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf. An audio tape purportedly from Saddam denied he had any part in the bombing.
Gunmen killed Akila al-Hashemi, a member of the US-appointed Governing Council, in a Baghdad suburb in September. Her assassination was blamed on followers of Saddam.