Mr Mohammed Ali Al-Hassani, governor of the southern Muthanna province, was on his way to work when his convoy was hit by a powerful roadside bomb, officials said.

Mr Hassani, a member of the largest Shi'ite party in Iraq, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), was the second provincial leader to be killed in two weeks.

His fellow member and the governor of southern Diwaniya province, Mr Khalil Jalil Hamza, was killed by a roadside bomb on Aug 11.

Mr Hadi Al-Ameri, an Iraqi parliamentarian, blamed remnants of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime for the deaths. 'The purpose behind these assassinations is to create Shi'ite-Shi'ite strife,' he said.

Iraq's southern provinces have largely escaped the wave of sectarian violence between Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs.

But intra-Shi'ite fighting in the south marks a new and more worrying phase.

SIIC and Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr's political movement are uneasy bedfellows in the ruling Shi'ite Alliance and have 30 seats each in Parliament. Tensions have sometimes sparked fierce clashes between fighters loyal to the two groups.

SIIC and its armed wing, the Badr Organisation, are locked in a struggle with Sadr's Mehdi Army militia for control of the towns and cities in Iraq's predominantly Shi'ite southern provinces.

The rival Shi'ite factions are vying for control of the vast oil wealth here, which accounts for most of the national government's revenue.

Analysts are worried that the fighting could draw in Iran. US officials already accuse Iran of arming and training elements of Sadr's militia.

Analysts also fear the turf war will escalate as the SIIC and the Sadrists try to strengthen their power bases ahead of provincial elections expected next year.

Yesterday's attack came as Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki arrived in Syria for his first visit to the neighbouring country since he took office in May last year.

His visit came amid US allegations that Syria is allowing foreign fighters to cross its borders.

France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, meanwhile, met Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani and other Iraqi officials a day after arriving in Baghdad for a highly symbolic visit to Iraq.

His was the first visit by a senior French official since the war started.

CAUSING TENSION

'The purpose behind these assassinations is to create Shi'ite-Shi'ite strife.'
IRAQI PARLIAMENTARIAN HADI AL-AMERI, who blames remnants of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime for the attacks on two governors