Iraqi governor escapes assassination in eastern Mosul

By Mohammed Walid

NINEVEH, Iraq (AA) - The governor of Iraq’s northern Nineveh province survived an assassination attempt in eastern Mosul on Sunday, according to a local military officer.

Gunmen opened fire on the convoy of governor Nofal Hammadi al-Sultan in eastern Mosul before his bodyguards engaged the attackers, Army Colonel Ahmad al-Jubouri told Anadolu Agency.

No injuries were reported.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Iraqi forces have driven Daesh terrorists from eastern Mosul in late January as part of a wide-ranging army offensive launched last October to retake the city, which Daesh overran in mid-2014.

In mid-February, Iraqi forces -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition -- began fresh operations aimed at purging Daesh from the rest of the city.