The deputy governor of Ninewa province on Monday survived an assassination attempt when an explosive charge went off targeting his motorcade in western Mosul, killing one of his bodyguards and injuring five, a security source said. “An improvised explosive device went off targeting the motorcade of Khesro Kouran, deputy governor of Ninewa, in al-Yurmok square in western Mosul killing one bodyguard and wounding five,” Captain Mousleh Ismail, the commander of the bodyguards, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

“The deputy governor was not inside the motorcade at the time of the explosion,” he added.

“The wounded were rushed to al-Mansour hospital for treatment, while the body was sent to the forensic medicine department,” he also said.

Meanwhile, Kouran told the VOI over the phone that he was not in the motorcade at the time of the explosion, noting that the motorcade was on “an official mission.”

Khesro Kouran is the official of the branch 14 of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Kurdish President Massoud Barazani.

He has survived several attempts on his life.

Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad.

HEYET Net- VOI