Article

2003-08-29 Iraq

Car bomb blasts Iraqi holy city of Najaf

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Posted by Steve 2003-08-29 8:36:39 AM|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Sadr should watch his back.

Posted by Chuck Simmins 2003-8-29 8:54:44 AM|| [http://blog.simmins.org] 2003-8-29 8:54:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Additional: Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim died in the bombing, his nephew told The Associated Press. "I called family in Najaf and they confirmed he was dead," said the nephew, Murthada Saeed al-Hakim. Earlier, another relative had said the ayatollah had escaped.
Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of Iraqi National Congress and a governing Council member also said on al-Jazeera, the Arab broadcaster, that al-Hakim had been killed, quoting the cleric's brother, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim.

Posted by Steve 2003-8-29 9:02:19 AM|| 2003-8-29 9:02:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 More details: "It happened shortly after prayers. It was a car bomb and up to 20 people were killed," Adel Abdul Mahdi, an official of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) told Reuters in Baghdad after receiving reports from Najaf. Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim leader Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim was killed by the car bomb, his nephew told Reuters in Tehran. "Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim became a martyr." Mohsen Hakim, who is also a top official for the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) based in Tehran, told Reuters. He would not give any further details.
A source close to SCIRI later said he was killed when his car was blown up after he left Friday prayers.Abdul Mahdi said the bomb detonated as worshippers were streaming out of the mosque. A U.S. military spokesman confirmed there had been a bomb blast but had no details. "There was an explosion at Najaf near a mosque," he said. "No coalition forces were in the area or on the ground because it is considered to be sacred ground."

On Sunday, top Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Saeed al- Hakim was slightly wounded in a bomb attack at his office in Najaf which killed three security guards. Hakim is the uncle of SCIRI leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim. Some SCIRI supporters blamed the previous attack, which was close to the mosque, on followers of rival Shi'ite leader Moqtada al Sadr. His group denied the accusation. Power struggles in Najaf are a key influence on the political future of majority Shi'ite Iraq.

Posted by Steve 2003-8-29 9:08:00 AM|| 2003-8-29 9:08:00 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 First priority - find out WHO did this.

This is not a random hate bombing, nor seems to be of the Baathist/al qaeeda type. This was a carefully plotted assasination - undoubtedly by the same people who tried to get Hakim earlier. Sadr, or Iranian secret service, or both. essential to catch them on this, and then take "appropriate" action.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-29 10:07:43 AM|| 2003-8-29 10:07:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 My guess would be Moqtada Sadr. Failing that, Sammy's boys stirring the pot by making it look like Moqtada's boyz.

But I'd say Moqtada.

Posted by Fred 2003-8-29 10:15:56 AM|| 2003-8-29 10:15:56 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Maybe if we'd had a few American tanks parked in front of the mosque, this tragedy could have been avoided...

/sarcasm

Posted by Seafarious 2003-8-29 10:19:41 AM|| 2003-8-29 10:19:41 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 fred the tradecraft to do this was very sophisticated - looks like they penetrated SCIRI to get the car set up - now who would have moles inside SCIRI??? Not the Baathists, for sure. Sadr, maybe but unlikely. SCIRI was based for years in Iran, and received Iranian support, even though their interests have no parted ways. Who would both have motive and likely has deeply penetrated SCIRI??? IRAN!!!!!

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-29 10:26:15 AM|| 2003-8-29 10:26:15 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 steve - whats the source for your last quote?? Since the claim it was Hakims own car seems significant.

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-29 10:48:06 AM|| 2003-8-29 10:48:06 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 never mind - its reuters, their earlier article. reference to the car has been removed from their current article - hmmmm?

Posted by liberalhawk 2003-8-29 11:46:25 AM|| 2003-8-29 11:46:25 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 75 dead now!

"I saw al-Hakim walk out of the shrine after his sermon and moments later, there was a massive explosion. There were many dead bodies," said Abdul Amir Jassem, a 40-year-old merchant who was in the mosque and said the cleric had prayed for Iraqi unity.

No Merkins seem to be involved (except for their total responsibility by failing to establish security, etc., etc., etc.).

Posted by Mark IV 2003-8-29 1:21:37 PM|| 2003-8-29 1:21:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 LH, still seems to be his car:
Eyewitnesses said Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the leading Shi'ite figure in Iraq, was about to drive away when the blast went off, destroying his car. Three gutted and destroyed cars, two of them flipped over by the force of the blast, were strewn across the street beside the mosque.

All reports I've read say the same thing. Sounds like somebody got to his car. If it was Saddam supporters it may have backfired:

In Sadr City, about 1,000 al-Hakim followers demonstrated in front of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution headquarters. Some sat weeping on the ground; others shouted for revenge. "We will not forget our Ayatollah Baqir al-Hakim!" they chanted. One protester fired a pistol in the air and urged the crowd to search for the Saddam backers and foreign fighters that he claimed were responsible.

Posted by Steve 2003-8-29 1:53:27 PM|| 2003-8-29 1:53:27 PM|| Front Page Top

#12

holy city of Najaf

What the hell is it with this "holy city" crap? It seems like every other city in the Arab Middle East is "holy." I never see Jerusalem referred to at a "holy city," yet that's the one city in the Middle East that could claim that title. But all these other little hell-holes are.

Anybody got an explanation?

Posted by Barbara Skolaut 2003-8-29 4:37:29 PM|| 2003-8-29 4:37:29 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Barb: "Holy City" makes Dire Revengeâ¢ all that much more necessary, and lowers the limits of offenses requiring such Revenge to such as jaywalking, being circumsized, etc... ;-)

Posted by Frank G 2003-8-29 5:14:09 PM|| 2003-8-29 5:14:09 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 How long do you think it will take before the foreign fighters and loyalists start showing up dead in the street?

Posted by Charles 2003-8-29 5:33:02 PM|| 2003-8-29 5:33:02 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 If the US Army or Marines had dinged the Tomb of Ali with so much as a 5.56mm round there would of been universal calls for Jihad and yet these bozos can blow up a car bomb in front of it and nobody says squat.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-8-29 6:32:28 PM|| 2003-8-29 6:32:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 Barbara - Najaf is home to the tomb of Ali, who was the son in law of the Prophet Mohammad. Shia Muslims believe that he was meant to rule over the worlds Muslims, but he was assassinated before he had the chance.
Sunni Muslims don't particularly care about the city, but for Shia Muslims it is the holiest city. The fact that the different sects of Islam have different holy cities is one reason why Muslims have so many. Although even then, there is really only half a dozen hold cities between the two sects.

Posted by Paul Moloney 2003-8-29 7:50:23 PM|| 2003-8-29 7:50:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 Oh, more dead in the streets.

Oh, more 'speculation' from blowhards thousands of miles away. Hope you get to the bottom of this one guys!

Meanwhile, great to see more freedom and democracy unleashed on the long-suffering people of Iraq. Thanks Saddam! Thanks Dubya!

Billy

Posted by Billy Bloggs 2003-8-29 9:05:13 PM|| 2003-8-29 9:05:13 PM|| Front Page Top

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