Friday, August 03, 2007
Second Sistani aide murdered in two weeks
Security
(AP) - On Friday, an aide to Iraq's top cleric was killed in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, a security official there said on condition of anonymity out of safety concerns. Fadhil al-Akil was in charge of collecting a Shiite religious tax known as "khoms," which is paid to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and used to run his seminaries and charities.
Gunmen approached al-Akil and shot him dead around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, the security official said. He was the second al-Sistani aide murdered in less than two weeks, raising questions about the Shiite cleric's own safety. Sheik Abdullah Falak al-Basrawi, who also collected religious taxes for al-Sistani, was stabbed to death inside the cleric's fortified compound on July 27 or 28th, police said, and a security guard was arrested afterward.
A month earlier, yet another aide was killed in a drive-by shooting. It is unclear whether the killings are part of internal Shiite disputes or the work of Sunni insurgents opposed to the vast influence enjoyed by al-Sistani over Iraqi Shiites and politics.
Al-Sistani, who rarely leaves his compound and doesn't grant media interviews, has been the target of at least one assassination attempt since 2003. The cleric, who is in his 70s, commands the deep respect of Iraq's majority Shiites. A death other than one of natural causes could spark riots by millions of his followers and fuel more sectarian violence.
Najaf has been relatively safe compared to the violence in Baghdad or other cities in the volatile center and north of Iraq, but a series of unsolved murders in recent months have struck clerics, academics and security officials. None of the killings had an obvious motive or could be linked to tribal, personal or religious disputes.
Gunmen approached al-Akil and shot him dead around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, the security official said. He was the second al-Sistani aide murdered in less than two weeks, raising questions about the Shiite cleric's own safety. Sheik Abdullah Falak al-Basrawi, who also collected religious taxes for al-Sistani, was stabbed to death inside the cleric's fortified compound on July 27 or 28th, police said, and a security guard was arrested afterward.
A month earlier, yet another aide was killed in a drive-by shooting. It is unclear whether the killings are part of internal Shiite disputes or the work of Sunni insurgents opposed to the vast influence enjoyed by al-Sistani over Iraqi Shiites and politics.
Al-Sistani, who rarely leaves his compound and doesn't grant media interviews, has been the target of at least one assassination attempt since 2003. The cleric, who is in his 70s, commands the deep respect of Iraq's majority Shiites. A death other than one of natural causes could spark riots by millions of his followers and fuel more sectarian violence.
Najaf has been relatively safe compared to the violence in Baghdad or other cities in the volatile center and north of Iraq, but a series of unsolved murders in recent months have struck clerics, academics and security officials. None of the killings had an obvious motive or could be linked to tribal, personal or religious disputes.
Labels: Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Fadhil al-Akil, khoms, Najaf, Sheik Abdullah Falak al-Basrawi
