A female Iraqi Shiite legislator escaped an assassination attempt when gunmen opened fire at her convoy south of Baghdad, but four of her bodyguards were killed, officials said on Tuesday.

Gunmen attacked the convoy of Salama al-Khafaji south of Baghdad as she was driven from Baghdad to the holy Shiite city of Najaf, some 160 km south of the capital. Four of her bodyguards were killed, Khafaji's spokesman told reporters.

She was among several Iraqi Shiite politicians travelling to Najaf to meet the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who has sought to defuse tensions between Sunni Arabs and Shiites after a series of sectarian killings.

It was not the first time that Khafaji survived assassination attempts. She was target of two assassination attempts in January 2005 and May 2004. Her 17-year-old son was among the casualties.

She was one of the 25-member of the US-installed governing council, and then she garnered a seat in the national council during the interim government, and finally she was elected to the National Assembly in the landmark Jan. 30 elections.

Source: Xinhua