He was born in al-Dur a village near Samarra, a city on the Tigris north of Baghdad in 1942, the son of a seller of ice. Kerbala is one of the holy cities of Iraq, long a centre of opposition to the ruling Iraqi Baath party and played an important role in the uprising of 1991.The full name of the vice president is Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, but all Iraqi leaders have dropped names denoting their tribal or geographical origin. Unknown assailants reportedly threw two grenades at Mr Ibrahim's car as he was getting out, wounding several bodyguards and civilians. He was in Kerbala, representing President Saddam Hussein to whom he has long been a close political ally. The Iraqi media said "the cowardly assassination attempt" occurred on Sunday near the tomb of Imam Hussein, the founding martyr of the Shia, who was killed in battle at Kerbala in 680. As many as 17 people died in the earlier clashes.Meanwhile, Indonesia's former president Suharto could be placed under house arrest if he attempts to interfere with a new corruption inquiry against him, a news report said.Muhammad Ghalib, the Attorney-General, was quoted as saying it was possible the former leader could be banned from travelling abroad while the investigation proceeds.At the weekend President Habibie announced that he would appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate Mr Suharto's wealth (AP). IZZAT IBRAHIM, vice-chairman of Iraq's ruling Revolution Command Council, escaped injury in a grenade attack last Sunday in the southern city of Kerbala Iraqi television reported yesterday. "We should be able to control ourselves," he said.Abdurrahman Wahid, head of the country's largest Islamic group, Nadhlatul Ulama, and the opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri both condemned the weekend violence.

"We have to beware of cruel actions made under a religious pretext," they said.The riots broke out a little more than a week after clashes erupted between students and security personnel. Most of the Chinese in mainly Muslim Indonesia are Christian or Buddhist.The Indonesian President, BJ Habibie, who is at the centre of student protests demanding wider changes to Indonesia's political system, blamed unidentified agitators and urged restraint. Many Christian schools were closed after riots at the weekend in which mobs of Muslim youths set fire to churches and attacked members of the country's Christian minority. Soldiers patrolled riot-hit areas in northern parts of Jakarta, but there were no fresh reports of unrest. Security forces detained 179 people during the riots, a police spokesmen said.The eight newly discovered victims had burnt to death or died of smoke inhalation, an official of the Indonesian Red Cross said. Two were members of the ethnic Chinese minority, which is often targeted during times of social conflict, partly because of the dominant position the Chinese exercise over Indonesia's trade and commerce. The problem for the Iraqi opposition groups is not lack of unity but their inability to operate inside Iraq because of the vigilance of the Iraqi security services.From 1991 to 1996 Kurdish opposition groups had a safe haven in Iraqi Kurdistan, but the Kurdish leaders have since reached an understanding with Baghdad which makes it unlikely they would allow an opposition group to set up a headquarters there.Experienced Iraqi opposition leaders say that the US underestimates the strength and experience of security services in Iraq.

Military coups were common in the Arab world in the 25 years before 1970 but since then very few have succeeded in overthrowing established governments.Saddam Hussein has great experience in staying in power. He began his own career by attempting to assassinate the then Iraqi leader, Abdul Karim Qassem, in 1959. He took power himself in a coup in 1968.He has always sought to reinforce the loyalty of the security services with family, tribal and Baath party allegiances. He has succeeded particularly in making sure no military commander can build up his own power base.. RESCUE WORKERS in the Indonesian capital yesterday pulled eight bodies from a gutted gambling parlour which was burnt by Muslim mobs, raising to 14 the death-toll from ethnic and religious violence.

Even during after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 Jalal al-Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, was not allowed to enter the US State Department.This was a hangover from the days when Washington was backing President Saddam in the Iran-Iraq war. Iraqi dissidents have not always been well received in London or Washington.Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which now rules eastern Iraqi Kurdistan, recalls that in the late 1980s he did not get through the door of the Foreign Office. "We didn't discuss arms and they [the opposition] are not seeking military support in that way," he said.The groups at the meeting included the Iraqi National Congress, the Kurdish Democratic Party, the Iraqi Democratic Party, and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Martin Indyk, the US State Department assistant secretary, will be finalising details of aid to the Iraqi dissidents at a further meeting in London today.Mr Fatchett said there was no consensus over the need to set up an Iraqi government-in-exile after meeting representatives of 16 opposition parties, although the groups had agreed to unite against the Iraqi leader despite policy differences between the groups.The Foreign Office minister said they had not discussed arms supplies. I could see that being attractive," said Derek Fatchett, the Foreign Office minister."It would catch the public mood. We know Saddam has used chemical weapons against his own people. To concentrate on those sort of issues would be strong and powerful."With the immediate threat of air raids on hold, the United States and Britain are focusing on the propaganda war, including disclosing that only $183m (pounds 110m) worth of medicines have been distributed by the Iraqi authorities from shipments in the last six months worth $440m.