Even the powerful Tajiks are not safe: in April, Mohammed Fahim, the defence minister, escaped an assassination attempt in Jalalabad.

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On July 30th, Shaukat Aziz, the finance minister nominated to be the next prime minister, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while electioneering in the north.

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In Anbar province, the provincial governor escaped an assassination attempt when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into his convoy, his deputy Dhari Arkan said.

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Kandahar's provincial director of hajj and Islamic affairs, Noorul Aziz, a former Taliban commander who joined the government early last year, has escaped four assassination attempts by his former comrades.

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Third, on November 14th, Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister in another state, Andhra Pradesh, called for an early election, partly to pick up the sympathy vote after he narrowly escaped a terrorist assassination attempt last month.

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During his long years at the helm, Mubarak escaped at least two assassination attempts, including a close call in 1995 when Islamic militants opened fire on his motorcade at a pan-African conference in Ethiopia.

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