Two car bombs target Iraqi tribal leader

BAGHDAD, Mar 27 (Reuters) Two suicide car bombs exploded near the home of a tribal leader in the Abu Ghraib district west of Baghdad today, killing the man's son and several other people, a provincial official said.

Sheikh Thahir al-Dari, whose home was targeted, is the head of the al-Zobaie tribe, which is the same as that of Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie. The deputy prime minister was the target of an assassination bid last week.

Ahmed al-Dulaimi, head of the provincial council media office in Anbar, said the sheikh's son was killed in today's double car bombing and there were several more casualties.

Dari is a member of a group of tribes who have formed an alliance against al Qaeda in the western province of Anbar.

Al Qaeda's adherence to a hardline form of Sunni Islam and indiscriminate killings have brought it into conflict with some Sunni tribes in Anbar.

Suicide bombers have targeted a number of tribal leaders in the anti-Qaeda alliance amid a growing struggle in Anbar between the militant group and tribes who oppose it.

Zobaie was wounded in last week's attack at his home in Baghdad. An aide said the suicide bomber was one of his own guards and said the tribe was itself divided between those loyal to the government and those supporting al Qaeda.

REUTERS MS RN1347