Iraq's oil minister survived an apparent assassination attempt on when a roadside bomb blasted his motorcade, the latest attack on the energy industry that is vital to rebuilding the country's beleaguered economy. Near the Syrian border, U.S. troops backed by fighter aircraft broadened a push against militant insurgents, killing at least 12 in and around the town of Sida. In the latest attack on Oil Ministry officials, at least two bodyguards were killed when a bomb exploded near the convoy carrying Oil Minister Ibrahim al-Uloum in northern Baghdad, according to Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad. "The minister is fine and is now at the ministry in a meeting with his staff," Jihad said.