Assassination of Mahdi Army Senior Leader, Riadh al-Nouri, Sadr Blames Occupation Forces

Sadr aide slain in Najaf

Najaf - Voices of Iraq
Friday , 11 /04 /2008 Time 11:05:15
Najaf, Apr 11, (VOI) –

A prominent aide of Shi'i leader Muqtada al-Sadr was shot dead by unidentified gunmen near his home in the holy Shi'i city of Najaf on Friday, a Sadrist official said.

"Riadh al-Nouri, one of the key assistants of Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr, was shot in front of his home in al-Furat neighborhood, northern Najaf, while returning from the Friday prayers," Hayder al-Jabiri, from Sadr's office in Najaf, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"Unidentified gunmen in a car that carried no number plate opened fire at Nouri, who received a bullet in the head," Jabiri said.

Ahmed Deibal, the official spokesman for the civil administration in Najaf, 180 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, said a curfew was imposed as of Friday afternoon until further notice over the slain leading Sadrist bloc member.

"Najaf will be under an indefinite curfew as of Friday afternoon for security reasons," Deibal told VOI.
Earlier in Karbala on Friday, a Sadrist official said the movement was seeking appeasement and rational discourse after the Iraqi government stopped detentions and cooled down the security unrest.
"The Sadrist bloc is calling for solving problems peacefully. Any problem, internal, regional or international, can never be solved except through dialogue and peaceful means," Sheikh Abdul-Hadi al-Muhammadawi, the head of Sadr's office in Karbala, told VOI.

Muhammadawi also called for avoiding any statements that might "stir ill sentiments," adding "the Sadrist bloc does not anything but the exit of the occupation forces from Iraq or at lease a timetable for withdrawal."

He denied reports that the Sadrists, or Iraqis loyal to cleric Sadr, burnt government offices or blew up bridges during the Basra clashes.

A couple of weeks ago armed clashes broke out in Baghdad and other southern provinces between government forces and groups of Sadr's Mahdi Army militias hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the commencement of Operation Saulat al-Forsan (Knights' Assault), which he said aimed at eliminating armed groups in the oil-rich port city of Basra, 590 km south of Baghdad.

The clashes ended when Sadr ordered his followers off the streets in Basra and other Iraqi provinces.
"The Sadrist movement had no instructions to do that," he said, accusing organizations he did not name of "capitalizing on the situation by acting under the Sadrists' name to distort the bloc's image."
Muhammadawi said the bloc's participation in the forthcoming elections is a constitutional right, adding all attempts to get the Sadrists out would be "deplorable and unfair. There are more than 20 armed militias in Iraq now working under different names."

Four days ago, Maliki said a decision was taken that the Sadrists no longer have a right to participate in the political process or take part in the upcoming elections unless they end the Mahdi Army militias.
A Sadrist MP had said there were 28 militias in Iraq that have to respect the decision of Prime Minister Maliki to disband.

"There are 28 militias in Iraq that belong to different blocs and parties including (Maliki's) Dawa Party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), Hezbollah, and Badr Organization. Some of these militias have merged into security agencies while others are still active. These militias should start observing Maliki's decision to disband," Bahaa al-Aaraji said in a press conference he held in Baghdad.

Muhammadawi also urged the Iraqi government to "release the detainees to help ease the security situation as a step to solve the problem for the Iraqi people's interest."

The holy Shi'i city of Karbala, said to be housing the tombs of Imams al-Hussain and his brother al-Abbas, both are highly revered figures for Shiite Muslims, lies 130 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

AE

Sadr blames occupation forces for aide’s assassination

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Friday , 11 /04 /2008 Time 11:05:15
Baghdad, Apr 11, (VOI)-

Shi'i Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday blamed the occupation forces for the death of his aide Sayyid Riad al-Nouri, urging his followers to be patient, demanding the government to open a probe on the incident.

The Shi'i cleric released a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq (VOI), in which al-Sadr promises he won't "forget this precious blood" but he urges his followers to "be patient."

Al-Sadr accuses "the hands of the occupiers and their tails" of being responsible for the attack.
Friday's statement comes hours after Riadh al-Nouri was gunned down as he drove home after attending prayers. Al-Nouri was the director of al-Sadr's office in Najaf.

Earlier today, Hayder al-Jabiri, from Sadr's office in Najaf, told the VOI "Riadh al-Nouri, one of the key assistants of Muqtada al-Sadr, was shot in front of his home in al-Furat neighborhood, northern Najaf, while returning from the Friday prayers."

"Unidentified gunmen in a car that carried no number plate opened fire at Nouri, who received a bullet in the head," Jabiri said.

"Najaf will be under an indefinite curfew as of Friday afternoon for security reasons," Deibal told VOI.
For his part, Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki condemned the assassination of al-Nouri, noting that it is an attempt to kill the moderate religious and political figures.

Meanwhile, al-Sadr's office in Baghdad announced three days of mourning following the assassination of Riad al-Nouri.

SH

Hilla under curfew after gunmen kill Shiite cleric's senior aide

Babel - Voices of Iraq
Friday , 11 /04 /2008 Time 11:05:15
Babel-Voices of Iraq
Babel, April11, (VOI)-

Babel's Local authorities imposed a curfew in the capital city Hilla from Friday afternoon till Saturday morning after the killing of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr'e senior aide in neighbouring province of Najaf, a security source said.

"Local authorities imposed a citywide curfew in Hilla starting from Friday 8pm and ending by Saturday 6am to stave off any violent actions following the assassination of Riadh al-Nouri , a senior aide of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr", a Babel security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq(VOI).

The killing threatened to raise tensions amid a violent standoff between al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and the U.S-Iraqi security forces.

Earlier today, Hayder al-Jabiri, from Sadr's office in Najaf, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) "Riadh al-Nouri, one of the key assistants of Muqtada al-Sadr, was shot in front of his home in al-Furat neighborhood, northern Najaf, while returning from the Friday prayers."

"Unidentified gunmen in a car that carried no number plate opened fire at Nouri, who received a bullet in the head," Jabiri said.

The security source pointed out "security forces deployed in the city centre set up roadblocks and checkpoints to stop any potential violent actions".

He noted "police vehicles driving inside Hilla streets announced imposing curfew over their loudspeakers".

Hilla went under a five-day curfew late March following the fierce clashes that erupted between gunmen and security forces, leaving 12 individuals killed and 42 wounded according to the province's security sources.

Hilla, the capital city of Babel, lies 100 km south-west Baghdad.
AM

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.