An Iraqi provincial governor was assassinated by a roadside bomb on Monday in an attack that officials said was a result of an internal power struggle with rival Shiite militias, rather than sectarian violence.
The governor, Mohammed Ali al-Hassani of the southern Muthanna Province, was a member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, one of the major Shiite parties. He is the second governor from the powerful party to be killed within 10 days, opening up the prospect of escalating violence among Shiites.
Mr. Hassani had left his house in Rumaitha and was heading to the nearby provincial capital, Samawa, 230 miles south of Baghdad, when his convoy was hit by a powerful bomb, killing him, a driver and a guard, said the police.
Although no one blamed any single group for the bombing, Mr. Hassani has in recent months been vocal in his criticisms of the Mahdi Army militia, which is loyal to Moktada al-Sadr,