| A senior Iraqi judge investigating the murder of a revered Shia cleric flew to Britain on Friday to gather evidence against Moqtada al-Sadr, the hardline Shia leader who is confronting coalition troops in the holy city of Najaf. The judge will interview three Iraqi exiles who witnessed the savage attack last April on Sayed Abdul Majid al-Khoei, a cleric whom Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, hoped would help forge peace in Iraq. The Shia leader, a powerful moderating voice who preached tolerance of other faiths, returned to Iraq from 12 years’ exile in Britain only to be shot and hacked to death by supporters of al-Sadr, within sight of the city’s Imam Ali shrine. |