A Sunni tribal Sheikh who is backed by the US and Iraqi government to fight the al-Qaida network in Iraq was killed in a roadside bomb attack on Thursday, local police source said.

A roadside bomb detonated near the home of Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha in the Ramadi City, the capital of Anbar province, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast killed Abu Risha, his aide and two of his bodyguards, the source said.

Earlier, the source said that Abu Risha was killed as a suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden car into a checkpoint guarding Abu Risha's house.

As the head of the Anbar Awakened Council, an alliance of Sunni tribes in Iraq's western province of Anbar province, Abu Risha had converted to a helpful force fighting al-Qaida in Iraq.

Last week, Abu Risha attended meeting with President George W. Bush and Iraqi officials in the Anbar province during the Bush surprise visit to a US military base in Iraq's western province of Anbar.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2007)