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Iraqi Governor Escapes Roadside Bombing, 3 Bodyguards Dead


Officials say the governor of Iraq's most dangerous province escaped with minor wounds when a bomb exploded near his convoy Tuesday.

The bomb exploded as the al-Anbar governor Maamoun Sami Rashid al-Alwani traveled to his office in Ramadi, killing three of his bodyguards and wounding four others.

Meanwhile, German officials say two German nationals taken hostage in Iraq in late January have been freed and will return home Wednesday. The two engineers - Rene Braeunlich and Thomas Nitzschke were kidnapped in the town of Baiji.

Elsewhere in Iraq, the U.S. military says coalition forces killed 10 insurgents - including three wearing suicide vests - in a raid on a safe house north of Baghdad. A statement says troops searched for an "al-Qaida terrorist leader" during the raid, but it did not specify if that person was among those killed.

In other news, the U.S. State Department called on Iraq's neighbors to respect its territorial sovereignty. Media reports say thousands of Turkish soldiers have been moved to the Iraqi border apparently to put pressure on rebels from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party who are hiding in northern Iraq.

And the U.S. military says an Iraqi court convicted 12 insurgents in April for crimes including membership in a terrorist organization. Three defendants received life sentences.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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