Basra governor says Iraq police tried to kill him

BASRA, Iraq, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The governor of Iraq's second city of Basra accused police officers of trying to kill him on Saturday after he survived an ambush on his motorcade in which three bodyguards were wounded.

"Gunmen in police uniform and others in civilian clothes tried to assassinate me. I know who they are and am going to go after them legally," Mohammed al-Waeli told reporters after the attack.

"They are a group of officers in the Major Crimes Department."

Security has deteriorated in Basra over the past year as rival factions from Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority tussle for a share of control over its vast oil resources.

Waeli, who is from the small but influential Fadhila party, fell out openly with the police chief in May, prompting Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to impose a state of emergency.
Reuters