Chris Hill, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq must be thanking his lucky stars as his convoy narrowly missed a roadside bomb that went off in the southern province of Baghdad. The embassy convoy was on its way passing through Thiqar province that is 240kms south of Baghdad. The bomb has caused damage to the vehicle but none were harmed. The attack has come just two weeks subsequent to the total withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Iraq.

The American ambassador was visiting the region to get together with U.S, Italian residents and local political leaders in an endeavour to help restore Iraq. The U.S. military speaker, Maj. Myles Caggins said that it was not clear whether the ambassador was the intended target, stating that it was atypical for a Western convoy to be assaulted in that part of Iraq.

A characteristically Shiite Arab stronghold, Thiqar, was among the first province to be passed over to the Iraqi security personnel. It had been the hot bed for episodic violent conflicts in 2007 that concurred between the dedicated mercenaries to Shiite prophet Muqtada al-Sadr that were anti-American and the Iraqi security personnel. The latest car bomb attack in a bustling market of Bathaa during June this year consumed 37 lives and injured 70 others.