Senior Iraqi military official wounded in bombing

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A senior Iraqi military officer was wounded in a roadside bomb attack on his convoy as he left home on Monday, police said.

The explosion in the Sulaikh district of northern Baghdad killed Major-General Mudhar al-Mawla's driver and two civilians, and wounded 13 others. Mawla was also seriously wounded, police said.

A separate security source said Mawla's brother was among the dead.

Baghdad security spokesman Major-General Qassim Moussawi said only one bodyguard had been killed in the blast and six people wounded. Mawla was only slightly wounded, he added.

Mawla is one of several officials dealing with the transfer of Iraq's U.S.-backed neighbourhood patrol groups to government control. The mainly Sunni groups number some 100,000 people nationwide.

There have been tensions as the Shi'ite-led government -- which suspects many patrol men are former insurgents -- takes responsibility for them from the U.S. military.

Violence has fallen sharply in Iraq over the past year, but insurgents have shown themselves still capable of conducting large-scale attacks.

Officials say they expect more high-profile and targeted attacks ahead of provincial elections due on January 31.

(Reporting by Aseel Kami and Waleed Ibrahim, Writing by Mohammed Abbas: Editing by Dominic Evans)