A suicide car bomb struck a checkpoint guarding the house of a Sunni tribal Sheikh in the Ramadi city in western Iraq on Thursday, killing the Sheikh, a local police source said.

The suicide car bomber drove his explosive-laden vehicle into the checkpoint guarding the house of Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, head of the Anbar Awakening Council, which is backed by the U.S. and Iraqi government to fight the al-Qaida in Iraq network, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Abu Risha, an aide and two of his bodyguards were killed in the attack, the source said.

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

read full blog