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Ex-Iraqi leader claims assassination attemptAllawi chased from mosque while campaigning in Najaf
 Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi was chased from a shrine in Najaf on Sunday. RELATED
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSNAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi was chased from a mosque Sunday in Najaf in what he said was an apparent attempt on his life. "We were on a visit to the holy city of Najaf and also to meet some religious figures," Allawi said. "We went then to the holy shrine of Imam Ali, and during the prayer, a group of people -- and they were about 60 people dressed in black carrying machetes and pistols -- started chanting against us, and it appeared to be an assassination attempt. "We believe they were a group of hooligans, but what happened will give us more resolve to chase outlaw groups and bring them before justice and to clean up the holy shrines from those people," Allawi said. (Watch the former Iraqi leader flee from the mosque -- 3:12) Members of Allawi's campaign team said the incident may have been organized by a religious Shiite militia group. During his exit, Allawi made his way through the crowd to his heavily armored convoy, and U.S. Apache helicopter gunships arrived to escort the convoy away from the area. Also Sunday, Iraqi security forces said they uncovered a plot by a Sunni insurgent group to attack the site of Saddam Hussein's trial, which is set to resume Monday in Baghdad. Meanwhile, two U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday in a roadside bombing in the capital, the U.S. military said. Allawi, a secular Shiite Muslim and former exile, was in Najaf to meet with religious leaders as part of his campaign for Iraqi parliament. The national election is set for December 15. CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, who was traveling with Allawi, said it was not clear if anyone in the crowd had fired on the group, but members of Allawi's campaign team said shots were fired at them. (On the Scene: "Bullet casings were flying around us") The Najaf governor's secretary, Sadiq al-Jabiri, said the incident took place at 1 p.m. "We do not condone this act, but it might happen anywhere in the world, especially when it comes to political leaders and figures," al-Jabiri said. In 2004, Allawi clashed with militia loyal to Najaf's powerful Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. Militia had taken over the shrine, leading to a standoff with Iraqi and U.S. forces. Allawi's Iraqi National Accord had a poor showing in the last election, which eventually saw the National Assembly choose the Islamic Dawa party's Ibrahim al-Jaafari to take over the government. This month's election will be the first under the new constitution approved by the assembly. Two killed in blastIn addition to the two U.S. troops killed, several American soldiers were wounded in the Baghdad roadside bombing Sunday, the military said. The blast struck a U.S. military patrol in the neighborhood of Juruf al-Naddaf at about 1:30 p.m., said a spokeswoman with Task Force Baghdad. The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war stands at 2,129, according to the U.S. military. Candidate killedA candidate in the upcoming election and well-known Shiite cleric -- Sheik Abdul Salam al-Bahadli -- was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting while in a car in Baghdad's Zayuna neighborhood, an Interior Ministry official said. Al-Bahadli was running for office as part of the bloc under the cleric al-Sadr. U.S. officials have warned of an increase in violence as the election approaches, specifically insurgent attacks such as an ambush Saturday that killed 19 Iraqi soldiers north of Baghdad. Iraqi troops have detained 55 people in connection with that attack, military officials said Sunday. (Full story) Iraq troops raided and searched homes a few hours after the 2 p.m. attack, yielding the detainees and resulting in the killings of two gunmen, the official said. Hussein trial reportedly a targetIraqi security forces said they had uncovered a plot by a Sunni Muslim insurgent group to attack the site of Hussein's trial when it resumes Monday in the capital, Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said Sunday. (Full story) The group is called the 1920 Revolution Brigades, he said. Security forces found "positioning mortars, long-range mortars from one of the suburbs of Baghdad" aimed at the trial's location, al-Rubaie said. Al-Rubaie declined to say what evidence linked the findings to the trial. He said it is being withheld because authorities do not want to release sensitive information involving how they uncovered the plot. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a member of Hussein's defense team, said Sunday he plans to raise the issue of security for defense attorneys in court Monday. "Two [defense attorneys] have already been executed," Clark said. Other developmentsCNN's Nic Robertson and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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