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Shiite leader may have been target Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/content/news/daily/0830iraqbomb.htmlhttp://www.daytondailynews.com/news/content/news/daily/0830iraqbomb.html
Shiite leader may have been target
By Larry Kaplow
Cox News Service
BAGHDAD, Iraq | Fearful Iraqi leaders called for calm Friday after a massive car bomb tore through a crowd outside a mosque in the holy city of Najaf, killing a prominent Shiite Muslim leader and at least 84 worshippers.
It was the deadliest attack since American troops captured Baghdad in early April and the third massive vehicle bombing in less than a month, following earlier attacks in Baghdad on the United Nations headquarters and the Jordanian embassy.
The apparent target was Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al Hakim, a Shiite leader with ties to Iran who had joined the American effort to rebuild Iraq.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, which came as thousands of worshippers were leaving Najaf’s Imam Ali mosque after midday prayers.
Many Iraqis blamed remnants of Saddam Hussein’s fallen, Sunni-dominated regime or foreign extremists, two groups suspected in a bombing last week at the United Nations headquarters, where the top U.N. envoy and 23 others died.
The bombing also could have been the work of rival Shiites — a prospect that threatened to rip apart a tenuous sectarian peace. The dead cleric, Hakim, was a respected Shiite religious and political leader known for his opposition to Saddam. But there have been recent signs of turmoil within the Shiite community.
More than 60 percent of Iraq’s population are Shiite Muslims.
American occupation forces have dealt for months with attacks on U.S. soldiers and Iraqis helping to rebuild the country. On Friday, military officials announced that an American soldier was killed and six were wounded in two separate attacks by insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades on U.S. convoys. The death brought the U.S. toll since war began in March to 282, including 181 as a result of hostile action.
The assassination of a religious leader with Hakim’s charisma and dedicated following seemed to make the situation especially flammable, sparking fears of violent unrest or retribution.
Iraqi leaders called for unity in the fractious country.
‘‘(The bombers) want to create a sectarian rift and even a civil war and they hope this experiment of national reconstruction will fail,’’ said Mowaffak al Rubaie, a Shiite member of the American-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. ‘‘There is already a lot of work going on, a lot of calls between Iraq, Iran, London and the rest of the world to say, 'Calm down, It’s a tragedy, true, a huge blow to the Shiite world, but it’s not the end of the world and we have to recover.’ ”
L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, said the bombing was carried out by ‘‘the enemies of the new Iraq.’’
He said is a statement: ‘‘Again, they have killed innocent Iraqis. Again, they have violated one of Islam’s most sacred places. Again, by their heinous action, they have shown the evil face of terrorism. ‘‘
The bombing also renewed complaints about a general lack of security under the American-led occupation.
‘‘It is getting worse and this is what we’ve been fighting against,’’ said Naseer Chaderji, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council. ‘‘This is the result of the coalition being too easy, too reluctant (on security).’’
At the behest of local leaders, U.S. troops have kept a low-profile in Najaf and especially near the Imam Ali mosque, one of the holiest places in Shiite Islam, where locals have organized security.
Hakim, 64, had just given the sermon calling for Iraqi unity, witnesses said. The spiritual leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, he was boarding his sport utility vehicle with bodyguards when the blast occurred, according to news service reports from the scene.
Television pictures showed chunks missing from the ornate tile-work and a wooden archway above the gate to the shrine. A building across the street, where pilgrims buy religious souvenirs, was partially collapsed. A witness said bodies were strewn throughout the street and at least five cars were charred and destroyed.
Hakim was an influential figure in the reconstruction of Iraq. He was also controversial because he called for a religious-based government, opposed by many, and because many were suspicious of his ties to regional rival Iran. He came from a respected family and his father was a high-ranking ayatollah.
Hakim had been imprisoned, tortured and eventually exiled under the government of Saddam. For more than 20 years, he led his Islamic movement from neighboring Iran. Iran provided him a base and support for a large army of fighters that, at times, scored successes in hit-and-run operations against the Iraqi army in the south.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis gathered to greet Hakim at the border when he returned to the country from Iran in May. At the time, he denounced the U.S. occupation of Iraq and refused to participate in rebuilding efforts.
But he eventually worked out terms to bring his movement under the American umbrella and his brother, Abdul Aziz al Hakim, is a member of the American-picked governing council.
The bombing came amid what appeared to be in a simmering feud between Hakim and a younger cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, who has grown increasingly vociferous in his opposition to the American role in Iraq.
Just last week, a smaller bomb exploded near the office of one of Hakim’s relatives. In April, a respected Shiite cleric calling for reconciliation returned from exile in London and was hacked to near the site of Friday’s bombing by a mob that appeared inspired by Sadr.
The Associated Press and Reuters Wire Service contributed to this report.
[From the Dayton Daily News: 08.30.2003]
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