Unidentified gunmen opened fire today on a convoy carrying former Iraqi
Governing Council member Mr Ahmad Chalabi in an apparent assassination attempt that wounded two of his bodyguards.
Mr Chalabi's convoy was attacked in southern Baghdad this morning as he returned from the holy city of Najaf, said spokesman Mr Mithal al-Alusi.
Mr Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon favourite who fell out of favour with the United
States, returned to Iraq from Iran earlier this month to face counterfeiting charges.
A warrant issued by an Iraqi court accused him of counterfeiting old Iraqi dinars, which were removed from circulation after the ouster of Saddam Hussein last year.
Mr Chalabi denies the allegations, saying he collected the fake currency in his role as chairman of the Governing Council's finance committee.
Despite the warrant, the Iraqi Interior Ministry has said it will not arrest him until unspecified legal issues are cleared up, leaving him free to move around the country.
His nephew, Mr Salem Chalabi - who heads the special tribunal in charge of trying ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein - faces separate murder charges.
AP