Friday, April 20, 2007
Al-Hakim's son attacked
Politics, Security
(AFP) - The son of prominent Iraqi Shiite leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim came under attack in a town south of Baghdad in which six of his security personnel were wounded, officials said Friday. Ammar al-Hakim, himself a well-known cleric and politician, was on his way to Baghdad from the Shiite holy city of Najaf when gunmen fired on his convoy as it passed the town of Latifiyah, Najaf provincial spokesman Ahmed Duaibl said.
"The convoy came under attack in Latifiyah. It was fired at from a distance," he told AFP, adding that it may have been an opportunistic attack on an official-looking motorcade rather than a planned assassination bid. An official from Hakim's office said four police escorts and two of his personal bodyguards were wounded in the attack. Hakim escaped unhurt, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Latifiyah, located in a region south of Baghdad dubbed the triangle of death, is notorious for such attacks as armed gangs randomly fire on passing convoys. Hakim senior heads the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a Shiite former rebel group that is one of the leading factions in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's governing coalition. The Shiite faithful consider both men to be sayyids, or descendants of the Prophet Mohammed. Their party was founded in exile in Iran and retains links to the Tehran government.
In February, US troops detained Ammar al-Hakim for several hours after his convoy crossed back into Iraq from Iran, accusing him and his guards of behaving suspiciously during a search of their vehicles. The arrest triggered SCIRI-sponsored street protests and he was released.
"The convoy came under attack in Latifiyah. It was fired at from a distance," he told AFP, adding that it may have been an opportunistic attack on an official-looking motorcade rather than a planned assassination bid. An official from Hakim's office said four police escorts and two of his personal bodyguards were wounded in the attack. Hakim escaped unhurt, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Latifiyah, located in a region south of Baghdad dubbed the triangle of death, is notorious for such attacks as armed gangs randomly fire on passing convoys. Hakim senior heads the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a Shiite former rebel group that is one of the leading factions in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's governing coalition. The Shiite faithful consider both men to be sayyids, or descendants of the Prophet Mohammed. Their party was founded in exile in Iran and retains links to the Tehran government.
In February, US troops detained Ammar al-Hakim for several hours after his convoy crossed back into Iraq from Iran, accusing him and his guards of behaving suspiciously during a search of their vehicles. The arrest triggered SCIRI-sponsored street protests and he was released.
Labels: Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, Ammar al-Hakim, gunmen, Latifiyah
