Baghdad - Influential Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi escaped an assassination attempt when a car bomb targeted his motorcade in western Baghdad, his office confirmed on Saturday.

The attack on the controversial Shiite politician occurred on Friday evening in the western Baghdad area of al-Mansour as Chalabi was returning to his residence.

The bomb killed two civilians and wounded 17 others.

Chalabi, who was a deputy prime minister for a time after the invasion of Iraq, is currently Chairman of the De-Baathification Authority and the Committee for Popular Mobilization in the Law Imposition Plan, which is concerned with restoring basic services in the country.

Once the head of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), an umbrella Iraqi opposition group that was formed with the aid and direction of the United States government following the 1991 Gulf War, Chalabi was a main adviser to the US in its attempt to overthrow former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Chalabi's assertions - later found to be false - of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were used among the justifications for the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

The politician was accused of deliberate providing false information to the US about the issue. (dpa)