“An IED [improvised explosive device] exploded targeting the convoy of Sheikh Hassan al-Hadidi on Wednesday killing him instantly and injuring his son and nephew,” Khalaf al-Hadidi, a member of Nineveh Provincial Council, told Rudaw.
Security forces have set up a perimeter around the scene of the blast and the body has been removed for autopsy, the official added.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Mosul and surrounding areas are still awash with explosives left over from the battle to retake the city from the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Although the city was retaken from ISIS in 2017, sleeper cells and other armed groups with simmering political rivalries continue to stage attacks.
ISIS earlier posted photographs on Telegram of a Sunni Tribal Forces fighter captured by the jihadist group near the village of Sardik near Mosul.
Since its territorial defeat in Iraq, ISIS has reverted to its earlier insurgency tactics, operating in the no man’s land between Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi Army, taking advantage of the security vacuum.
The group targets tribal leaders and village chiefs to cow the population into submission.
