Iraqi Sunni cleric wounded in bomb attack Blast in capital's western Yarmouk neighborhood leaves Sheik Mahdi al-Sumaidaie badly injured and one bodyguard dead.

A bomb has struck the convoy of a senior Sunni cleric in western Baghdad, killing at least one person and critically wounding the Muslim leader.

The blast in the capital's Yarmouk neighborhood on Sunday morning left Sheik Mahdi al-Sumaidaie badly hurt and one of his bodyguards dead, a Sunni religious official said.

The cleric had just finished leading prayers at a nearby mosque to mark the beginning of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which follows the holy month of Ramadan.

Earlier this year, he called for a unified religious authority to bridge the gap between Iraq's Sunnis and Shia.

Hardline Sunni groups often target Sunni clerics seen as working closely with the Shia-led government.

Police confirmed the attack, although there were conflicting reports about the number of casualties. Two police officers and a hospital official reported that multiple people were killed and wounded.

Deadly month

Al-Sumaidaie was one of the Sunni religious leaders who called on followers to fight US-led forces after the 2003 invasion.

He established a conservative Salafi group based in one of the mosques on Baghdad's Sunni-dominated western side.

After US troops left, his group was among those who abandoned their weapons and sided with the government. Since then, he has urged followers to support the government for the sake of security and to help rebuild the country.

Violence fueled by sectarian differences has declined in Iraq since its height between 2005 and 2008, though deadly attacks continue to occur almost daily and have picked up in recent weeks.

About 200 people have been killed since the start of August.

On Thursday, a relentless assault across the country killed at least 93 people and wounded many more. It was the second deadliest day in Iraq since US troops left in December.

No group has claimed responsibility for that wave of killings, but it bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch.

The local al-Qaeda franchise, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, has vowed to make a comeback in areas it once held before the US and its local allies pushed it out.