US backed Shia cleric killed in Najaf

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday April 10, 2003 21:20 by Maubere

Shia cleric Abdul Majid Al-Khoei was stabbed to death in Najaf today

Shia cleric Abdul Majid Al-Khoei was stabbed to death in Najaf today. According to BBC "Assailants armed with knives attacked Abdul Majid al-Khoei inside the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf - one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims, Fadhel Milani (spokesman for the London-based al-Khoei foundation has said.
) told BBC News Online" . Al-Khoei was the son of the late Grand Ayatollah al-Khoei, spiritual leader of Iraq's Shia Muslims at the time of the 1991 Gulf War. He is listed on the US State Departments "Iraq's Voices of Freedom" website (http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/nea/iraq/voices/voicesb.htm ). He supported the invasion of Afghanistan in 2002. (http://www.cwnews.com/Browse/2001/10/16562.htm)
The al-Khoei foundation said Mr Khoei's association with the coalition forces may have provoked the attack.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters: "The very regrettable assassination of a sheikh from Najaf - which the United States strongly condemns, and we express our sympathies to the people of Najaf over this assassination - is another reminder of how dangerous the situation is inside Iraq" .

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was "saddened and appalled" by Mr Khoei's death.

"I met him on several occasions," he said. "He was a religious leader who embodied hope and reconciliation and who was committed to building a better future for the people of Iraq.

"I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of Abdul Majid al-Khoei and to the al-Khoei Foundation."
Family member Jawad al-Khoei told Reuters "he was martyred by treacherous hands".