Two British contractors guarding a consulate convoy were killed, while a prominent Sunni Arab leader escaped an assassination attempt in Iraq.

A roadside bomb struck a British consulate convoy in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Saturday, killing two security guards, Dubai-based al-Arabiyah TV channel reported.

The attack took place at about 9:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) as the convoy was passing through the southwestern part of the city, the channel said.

The two victims were security contractors working for the British security firm Control Risks Group. Their nationalities were not immediately known, the channel added.

The British embassy in Baghdad said it was investigating the incident in Basra, some 550 km south of Baghdad. It did not reveal further details.