Iraqi Shia leader buried in Najaf
8:48 PM // 0 comments // Unknown // Category: World news
Thousands of mourners in Iraq's holy Shia city of Najaf have paid their final respects to one of the country's most powerful leaders. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, was buried in Najaf on Saturday, three days after his death of lung cancer in a Tehran hospital. Al-Hakim's son and potential successor, Ammar, read out portions of the Iraqi political leader's will, in which he called for coexistence among Iraq's fractured sects. He also warned that loyalists to Saddam Hussein, the executed former Iraqi leader, and Sunni extremists, were trying to target national unity in the country, The Associated Press news agency reported. "They see that the only way to achieve their victory is by creating sedition between Iraqi Shias and Sunnis," al-Hakim wrote. Mourning tour Saturday's ceremony and the arrival of the casket in Najaf marked the end of a three-day mourning tour that started in Iran and went on to Baghdad and other parts of Iraq's predominately Shia areas.
Wailing crowds touched the Shia leader's coffin as it was carried through Baghdad amid tight security following an official ceremony on Friday. Al-Hakim was a power broker who helped pave the path for the re-emergence of Iraq's Shia political majority after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated government. In depth
Obituary: Abdul Aziz al-Hakim Video: Rift appears among Iraq Shia
Although he was seen as the Iraqi politician with the closest ties to Iran, where he lived in exile for 20 years, he also managed to build a rapport with the build a rapport with the US.
But his death has sparked fears of political instability ahead of national polls that many fear may be marred by violence.
Bombing attacks
His burial followed two bomb attacks in northern Iraq that killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 others.
In one attack on Saturday, a suicide car bomber killed at least nine people and wounded 11 others at a police station in the town of Shirqat, 300km north of Baghdad, in Salahuddin province.
The other bombing killed six people and wounded 20 others in the town of Sinjar, 390km northwest of Baghdad, which is home to Yazidis, members of a pre-Islamic Kurdish sect.
A surge in violence in the past two months has raised doubts about the durability of security gains, including lorry bombings that killed almost 100 people at government ministries on August 19.
Related posts :
0 comments for this post
Leave a reply
TOP POST
-
Euro is turning lower today, after some gains earlier. Now, though, the 17-nation currency is falling back as Forex traders try to determine...
-
The US dollar gained today as signs of an economic slowdown in China damped risk appetite of investors and made them to return to the safety...
-
Vietnam //
-
Name: Jin Mei XiEnglish name: Olwen Jin Date of birth: August 21, Place of birth: Shandong Province Yantai City, China Height: 175 cm Weig...
-
As you'll recall from yesterday, there was one small detail that stood out in Microsoft's announcement of a new preview program for...
-
Chinese Stunning Model Anata Wang Ying
-
The first of Dalao class was commissioned in 2010 and within one year, the second boat was launched. Quietly, PLAN's submarine force is ...
-
Elly Tran Ha is an American-borned-Vietnamese, who has recently moved back to Vietnam from the USA. She works as a part-time model while fur...
-
The Swiss franc was down for the second week as prospects of peg of the currency to the euro significantly reduced appeal of the fra...
-
Hot And Sexy Upcoming Actress Uthpala Madushani, Uthpala Madushani Hot, Uthpala Madushani Bikini, Uthpala Madushani sexy, Uthpala Madushan...
Total Pageviews
2008 - 2009 SimplexDesign. Content in my blog is licensed under a Creative Commons License.- SimplexPro template designed by Simplex Design.
- Powered by Blogger.com.