Iraqi parliamentary candidate killed in Baghdad bomb attack

BAGHDAD, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Safaa al-Mashhadani, a sitting member of the Baghdad Provincial Council and a candidate for Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections, was killed early Wednesday in a bomb explosion in the north of the Iraqi capital, Iraqi security authorities said.

The incident occurred after midnight on Wednesday when a sticky bomb attached to al-Mashhadani's vehicle detonated in the Tarmiyah area, some 40 km north of Baghdad, killing him and wounding four others, the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) said in a statement.

In response, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, also commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, ordered the formation of an investigative committee under the supervision of the BOC commander to probe the attack, it said.

In a separate statement, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani mourned the death of Safaa al-Mashhadani, condemning the killing as a "cowardly terrorist act" and urging the government and security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.

According to Iraqi authorities, the country is set to hold parliamentary elections in November.