Bodyguards accused in failed hit on Iraqi deputy PM

Story Highlights

• NEW: Source says two other guards also had roles in deputy prime minister attack
• Deputy prime minister's office: Bodyguard let suicide bomber into compound
• The accused bodyguards are on the lam, source says
• Five U.S. troops killed by bombs in Baghdad and Diyala province

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- One of Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie's bodyguards helped a suicide bomber in last week's failed effort to assassinate the official, al-Zubaie's office said Monday.

A source close to al-Zubaie said later that two other bodyguards also assisted in the hit.

Nine people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his wares inside al-Zubaie's compound in Baghdad after Friday prayers. Al-Zubaie was wounded in the attack.

Wahab al-Dolaimi, al-Zubaie's bodyguard, allegedly helped the would-be assassin infiltrate the compound and allowed his own car to be rigged with a bomb, according to the deputy prime minister's office. (Watch debris from the blast and a ball bearing from the suicide bomb )

The source close to al-Zubaie said that al-Dolaimi, who had been al-Zubaie's bodyguard for about four months, and two other bodyguards suspected of playing a role in the attack are on the lam.

Al-Dolaimi used to be a cook and had access to the kitchen and the rest of the compound where al-Zubaie lives and works, the source said.

Al-Zubaie was hospitalized inside Baghdad's Green Zone. His wounds required surgery, said Gen. Qassim Atta, spokesman for the new Baghdad security plan.

The deputy prime minister is in stable condition, the source close to al-Zubaie said.

A terrorist group linked to al Qaeda, Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for the bombing and warned of future attacks on what it called "traitors." The group further said it was able to attack the deputy prime minister "in his house."

"We say for all traitors, the officials in [Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri] al-Maliki's infidel government, that the worst waits for you. You will never be safe as long as we are alive and our hearts are beating," said a statement posted to an Islamic extremist Web site.

The deputy prime minister is a Sunni in a predominately Shiite nation. Iraq has two deputy prime ministers, the other being Barham Salih, a Shiite. (Al-Zubaie's background)

The Iraqi government has launched an investigation into the attack.

Bombs kill 5 GIs

Two roadside bomb attacks have killed five U.S. soldiers in Iraq, according to the U.S. military.

Four Task Force Lightning Soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Sunday when a bomb exploded near their patrol in Diyala province, the military said.

Another U.S. soldier was killed and two others were wounded Sunday by a roadside bomb blast in northwest Baghdad, the military said. The soldier was involved in a route-clearance mission, the military said.

The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war stands at 3,234. Seven American civilian contractors also have died in the conflict.

Other developments

• At least two people were killed and two more wounded Monday when Sunni residents clashed with a Shiite militia in Iskandariya after militia members attacked a Sunni mosque. Iraqi forces brought the fighting under control after about 30 minutes. Iskandariya is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

• A suicide car bomber detonated a vehicle in al-Russafi square in central Baghdad on Monday, killing two civilians and wounding five others, Baghdad police said. Also Monday, one person was killed and three others wounded when mortar rounds landed in a residential area of al-Mahdiya, a Shiite district in southern Baghdad. Another mortar attack near a police station in Adhamiya, a Sunni district in northern Baghdad, wounded an Iraqi.

• Insurgents detonated explosives Monday beneath a crude oil pipeline near Baiji in northern Iraq, a police official said. The attack ignited a massive oil fire that burned for several hours. No one was injured, police said.

• Sixteen bullet-riddled bodies, some showing signs of torture, were found across the capital Sunday, police said.

CNN's Jennifer Deaton, Basim Mahdi and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.