Several interesting developments. Can you connect the dots? I believed when I read these articles that supporters of Ayatollah Baqer Hakim were most likely responsible. However, recent developments point towards supporters of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr's son, Moqtada al-Sadr, instead. Click here for an updated account. His group is blamed for the murder of al-Khoei by many, and is even threatening the supporters of al-Hakim. Regardless, here are the stories.
From Arab News earlier this morning:
According to a well-known Najaf resident, business owner and local leader, who asked that he not be further identified, there are now three different opposition movements vying for control in the city, each under a different leader. He gave an indication of what may lie ahead for Iraq’s disunited people.According to this source, Nizar Al-Khazraji, a general in Saddam’s Ministry of Defense who defected in the 1990s and has been living in Denmark, is one of them. He is a native of Najaf. He is America’s number one choice. The leader of the second movement is Majid Al-Khoi’i, an Islamic scholar who, after 1991, went to the US after Saddam ordered his death.
The third group leader is Bakr Al-Hakim, who until recently was residing in Iran. He has 25,000 to 30,000 followers, and the US is said to resent his entry into Iraq as he has extremely close ties to Iran. The US has no confidence in him or his group, but as they are pushing for a new democratic system they are reluctant to bar his entry into Najaf, according to the source.
From Arab News this afternoon:
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: from Arab News War Correspondent in Najaf, Iraq; filed 2 pm GMT; April 10: Former Iraqi general Nizar Al-Khazaraji and Islamic scholar Majid Al-Khoi’i have both been executed by Iraqi residents of Najaf, according to five independent Iraqi witnesses to the incident who spoke to Arab News. The two potential Iraqi leaders of the city, who were supported by the US, “were chopped into pieces with swords and knives inside the Ali Mosque this morning by Iraqis who accused them of being American stooges,” one of the witnesses said. Another said that a US Special Forces Soldier, who had been acting as their body guard, was also killed in the incident. Al-Khoi'i's death has since been confirmed by his family in London. However, there has been no independent confirmation of Al-Khazarji's death. Arab News War Correspondent Essam Al-Ghalib says from Najaf that he can confirm only that local Iraqis were talking about the death of Al-Khazarji, not that the man had actually been killed.
From IRNA in a related story about the death of Majid Al-Khoi’i:
The cleric was intending to arrange the first Shiite mourning ceremony which was banned for 25 years by the Iraqi regime in Najaf and Karbala.
Only few hours before his death, Abdul Majid told IRNA Thursday
by telephone that he had met with several senior Shiite clerics in
Najaf to discuss plans to get the city back to normal.
He also denied speculation about having been shunned by tribal
leaders in southern Iraq.
Last but not least, a story from IRNA I referenced on Monday:
Posted by Mike at April 10, 2003 04:16 PM | TrackBack
Head of Supreme Council for Islamic
Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) Ayatollah Baqer Hakim will return to Iraq after an hiatus of 23 years, said his nephew Seyed Mohsen Hakim here Sunday.
Speaking to IRNA, he said Ayatollah Hakim has made the decision in
support of the Iraqi nation in the current difficult crisis.
He said another reason for his return is to embark of theological
teaching in the Iraq's holy city of Najaf.
"The task of guidance and advise to the Iraqi people on national
political discourse will enter a new phase with Ayatollah Hakim's
return to Iraq," he added.