Iraq's leading Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, survived an assassination attempt this evening when gunmen opened fire on his entourage.
It happened as he was greeting people in his native city of Najaf.
Afterwards, a member of Iraq's Governing Council said the Ayatollah was unhurt.
Meanwhile in Baghdad, a US soldier was killed and another injured in a mortar attack on a military installations near the airport today.
Approximately four mortar rounds struck a logistics base near the airport and the airport complex itself, which lies a few kilometres west of the city and is a key command centre for US military operations in Iraq.
The wounded soldier was evacuated for medical treatment.
