Assassination of top Sunni cleric aimed at sparking sectarian violence: Maliki
19/08/2012 22:23
ERBIL, Aug. 19 (AKnews) – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said the targeting of top Sunni cleric in Iraq Mahdi al-Sumaidaie is part of the “terrorist” organizations aiming at sparking violence across Iraq.
On Sunday morning, Al-Sumaidaie - who was head of the Sunni Fatwa Board in Iraq - was returning from a mosque where he attended the early morning Eid prayers. A car bomb struck his convoy in western Baghdad killing him and injuring a number of his guards and civilians in the nearby.
Al-Sumaidaie was one of the most prominent Iraqi Sunni leaders who supported the national reconciliation process in the country.
A statement released by the PM’s office quoted Maliki as saying: “the targeting of head of the Sunni Fatwa Board in Iraq, Sheikh Mahdi al-Sumaidaie and his companions in such a holy day by the terrorists” is just another episode of the plans of “those murderers.
The terrorist target people like al-Sumaidaie to stir violence and “silence any moderate national voice”, the statement quoted Maliki.
RY/AKnews
