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BAGHDAD — An Iraqi Cabinet member escaped injury Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy in Baghdad.
Abed Theyab, minister of higher education, was traveling to work when the bomb went off as he passed through the Karradah district, police said. No one in the convoy was hurt, but three civilian bystanders were wounded, the police added.
U.S. and Iraqi authorities fear an increase in violence ahead of Jan. 31 regional elections, when voters in 14 of the 18 provinces choose members of regional ruling councils.
