(KUNA) -- An Iraqi group leader was killed on Saturday while leaving a mosque in western Baghdad, an Iraqi security official said. An unidentified gunman shot dead a leader of the Al-Sahwa (Awakening) Councils while he was leaving a mosque at Al-Jameaa Neighborhood in western Baghdad, the source, on anonymity, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).Al-Sahwa Councils are US-supported Iraqi groups set up to fight Al-Qaeda militants in Iraq. The perpetrators fled the site after they had assassinated the Al-Sawha leader, only identified as Colonel Rabeaa. Al-Sahwa Councils were set up by the Americans as an example of how Sunni Arab Iraqis have united to combat Sunni Islamist Al-Qaeda group.
Early December, the Iraqi government unfolded a plan to integrate Al-Sahwa Councils into Iraqi army and police forces pursuant to a program set by commanders of the Operation Imposing Law. A total of USD 123 million have been allocated for the implementation of the plan, including pays and wages for members of those councils. The group has actually managed to expel Al-Qaeda from Anbar, al-Ameriya and al-Adhamiya.