Bomb kills Iraq tribal chief

Baghdad: A Sunni Arab tribal leader instrumental in driving Al Qaida out of Iraq's Anbar province was killed by a bomb yesterday, less than two weeks after he met US President George W. Bush in the desert region.

Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was killed near his home in Ramadi, capital of Anbar. He was the leader of an alliance of Sunni Arab tribes called the Anbar Salvation Council that joined forces with US troops to push Al Qaida from much of the western area.

The bombing will serve as a stark warning to other tribal leaders and those cooperating with US forces in Iraq, especially given Abu Risha was so heavily guarded. Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffaq Al Rubaie condemned the attack and blamed Al Qaida.

The US military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, called the killing of Abu Risha "a terrible loss for Anbar province and all of Iraq".

"It shows how significant his importance was and it shows Al Qaida in Iraq remains a very dangerous and barbaric enemy," Petraeus said in an interview with The Washington Post.

The White House said it condemned the killing of Abu Risha. Bush recognised the Iraqi tribal leader's "courage" in his recent meeting in Anbar, White House National Security spokeswoman Kate Starr said. The Sunni leader had played a critical role in improving security in restive Anbar province, she said.

Two bodyguards and an aide to Abu Risha were also killed in the attack on the tribal leader's car on the day Iraq's Sunni Muslims marked the start of the fasting month of Ramadan.

"His car was totally destroyed by the explosion. Abu Risha was killed instantly," Ramadi police officer Ahmad Mahmoud Al Alwani said.

Bush met Abu Risha and other tribal leaders during a highly symbolic trip to Anbar on September 3, where the American leader declared that improved security in the vast desert province was an example of what could happen elsewhere in Iraq.

Police sources said Abu Risha was killed by a roadside bomb that targeted his armour-plated car. But one bodyguard said a bomb had been planted in his car, suggesting someone close to Abu Risha may have been involved.

Abu Risha, who was believed to be in his early 40s, set up the Anbar Salvation Council last year to fight Al Qaida, an effort which has been held up by US leaders as one of the biggest success stories in improving security in Iraq. His brother, Ahmad Abu Risha, would take over as head of the council, a source in the body said.

Al Qaida once controlled large swathes of Anbar but Abu Risha was instrumental in getting young men to start joining local police forces, a development that has sharply reduced levels of violence and forced many Al Qaida fighters to flee to other provinces. It was one of the first examples of the US military working with tribal leaders in Iraq to develop local police to secure their own communities.