Five members of the Iraqi president's staff were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their motorcade north of Baghdad, police said on Saturday, adding that President Jalal Talabani was not present. Lieutenant Colonel Abbas Mohammed al-Bayati said the bomb went off as the convoy entered the town of Tuz Khurmatu, 70 km (40 miles) south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk late on Friday. A presidential spokesman declined comment, according to a report of Reuters. Police said an adviser to Talabani was among the wounded, but the extent of his injuries was not known. The convoy had been heading to Baghdad from Kurdistan when it was attacked. Talabani is a Kurd.
