Insurgents killed the governor of Iraq's southern province of Muthanna, Mohammed Ali al-Hassani, in a roadside bomb attack in the provincial capital Samawa. The governor was traveling in a convoy and in an armored car for protection when the bomb exploded.

Ahmed Marzoq with the Muthanna Governing Council says the bombing was a politically-motivated.

He says they used a very special and powerful bomb to penetrate the governor's armored car.

Officials say at least three of Mohammed Ali al-Hassani's bodyguards were wounded in the blast.

On August 11, Khalil Jalil Hamza, governor of Diwaniyah province, and police chief, Maj. Gen. Khalid Hassan, were killed, along with their driver and a bodyguard in a roadside bombing attack.

The governor was a member of the influential Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a group led by Shiite politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim. Hakim's loyalists have been fighting the Mahdi Army militia for control of the oil-rich south.

A vehicle curfew was imposed on Samawa shortly after Monday's bombing.