Gunmen attacked the convoy of the deputy head of Iraq's Shiite religious endowment today, killing eight of his guards, the senior cleric said.
Sheikh Sami al-Massudi said his convoy was ambushed near Ishaqi, a town north of Baghdad that was retaken from militants on Saturday, sparking hours-long clashes in which 10 guards were also wounded.
The endowment is a major organisation that manages Shiite religious sites in Iraq.
"We were on our way to Samarra, but we were surprised by a fierce battle near Ishaqi," Massudi said.
Gunmen were hiding in farmland next to the road, and opened fire on the convoy with machineguns and sniper rifles, he said, adding that the fighting lasted from this morning into the afternoon.
"I cannot say if I was the target," Massudi said.
Ishaqi was one of two towns retaken by security forces on Saturday from Sunni militants who have seized a swathe of territory in a major offensive.
The militant attack, spearheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group but also involving supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussein, was launched on Monday night.
Security forces performed poorly when the onslaught was unleashed, but they now appear to be recovering from the initial shock and have begun to regain ground.
