He’s been hailed as a hero. The governor of Anbar is back in town after narrowly escaping a suicide bomb attack in late December.

Governor Qasim Mohammed Abid lost his hand and has a broken leg. He still remembers what happened:

"I remember from the first moment ... I'd seen the suicide bomber and I saw the smoke coming out of his body.

But I didn’t hear the noise after that. I’ve been attacked and injured in many places ... my arm has been lost and my leg is broken and under treatment and many other injuries ... fortunately I got good treatment in Baghdad, Germany and the United States, and I came back two days ago in good condition."

Asked what message he wants to send to those behind the attack, he said:

"I want to tell them that they are losing their people, their lives and their reputation in the society because we are moving and never looking left or right ... we decided to build our governorate by all means and this accident will give us more potential and more insistence to reach our target."

The Anbar TV channel, which is owned by the local government, hasn't stopped broadcasting the footage of the governors’ return.

His office was full of well wishers and tribal sheiks in traditional Arab dress. A woman approached his desk and began throwing sweets at him - a traditional Iraqi gesture of welcoming.

The governor tells me he is sure of success:

''We will [succeed], They are already defeated .. and you will remember. They are defeated by such type of operation targeting poor people and send a suicide bomber against a restaurant and some other dirty work, so they lost already,’’ he said with a smiling face.

And as the election looms, Governor Abid urges the people to vote:

"I ask the people to share the elections because any unused vote could be used against us. So I hope all Anbaris will vote and we reach a good per cent in comparison with other governorates."