Monday, September 10, 2007
Prominent Sadr Movement Member Assassinated
Security
(Al Mashriq Newspaper) - 9 SEP - On Saturday, IPs said that an explosion in Kufa Market killed five and injured eight. The local hospital mentioned that four were killed and six were injured. A police source said that a bomb was placed on the road and that caused the explosion, while other sources said that the bomb was thrown. Kufa is one of three holy cities for Shiites in Iraq. It is located south of Baghdad.
On the other hand, the IPs announced that unidentified gunmen assassinated one of Muqtada Al Sadr’s assistants in Najaf. Najaf Police Chief, Brigadier General Abdul Karim Mustafa said unidentified gunmen assassinated Sheikh Mohammed Al Karawi [Iraqi dialect- Garawi], the manager of Najaf Tribal Relations Office in the Sadr Movement, in front of his house in Najaf. Gen. Mustafa added that the assassination was conducted Friday afternoon in front of Al Karawi’s house in the Al Jamiaa area in northern Najaf. The gunmen escaped. Mustafa added, “We have surrounded the entire neighborhood and the search continues to pursue, and we will arrest the criminals.”
A source in the Sadr Office confirmed the incident and demanded an investigation as to who was behind this incident. Al Karawi was responsible for tribal affairs in the Sadr office. Najaf has recently witnessed many assassinations of religious authority’s aides and political movement members. The three latest assassinations were of senior religious cleric Ali Sistani’s aides during the past three months.
On the other hand, the IPs announced that unidentified gunmen assassinated one of Muqtada Al Sadr’s assistants in Najaf. Najaf Police Chief, Brigadier General Abdul Karim Mustafa said unidentified gunmen assassinated Sheikh Mohammed Al Karawi [Iraqi dialect- Garawi], the manager of Najaf Tribal Relations Office in the Sadr Movement, in front of his house in Najaf. Gen. Mustafa added that the assassination was conducted Friday afternoon in front of Al Karawi’s house in the Al Jamiaa area in northern Najaf. The gunmen escaped. Mustafa added, “We have surrounded the entire neighborhood and the search continues to pursue, and we will arrest the criminals.”
A source in the Sadr Office confirmed the incident and demanded an investigation as to who was behind this incident. Al Karawi was responsible for tribal affairs in the Sadr office. Najaf has recently witnessed many assassinations of religious authority’s aides and political movement members. The three latest assassinations were of senior religious cleric Ali Sistani’s aides during the past three months.
COMMENT: Several SIIC key figures in the south have been assassinated in the last few months. SIIC and the Sadr movement are vying for control of the south. SIIC and it's militia, the Badr Corps, have suspected the Mahdi Army of being behind the assassinations, so it is possible this incident is in retaliation. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: assassination, Kufa, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf, Najaf Tribal Relations Office, Sadr movement, Sheikh Mohammed Al Karawi
