Gunmen have killed the son of a Shiite politician in southern Iraq, the latest victim of a campaign against followers of the country’s most influential cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, officials said Monday.
Cleric Habib Salman’s son was shot in an Internet cafe in the southern town of Numaniyah on Sunday, witnesses said.
"They basically blew off his head," said a police official.
Shiite officials said the prominent cleric’s son was the latest victim of a guerrilla campaign to stir up sectarian tension ahead of Jan. 30 elections.
Sistani enemies send a message
Salman is a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, a bloc backed by Sistani that is almost certain to win enough seats in parliament to cement Shiites’ grip on power after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein.
"Sistani has been building up enemies, from Sunni militants who consider him a heretic, to people who stand to lose power if his list dominates, to those who resent what they see as soft stands on the U.S. occupation," said one cleric.
"Remember that Sistani has all but backed the Shiite list publicly. The message the assassins are sending to Sistani is clear: Stay out of politics."
Salman, who is in his late 70s, is an outspoken supporter of Sistani in the south. He led efforts by moderate Shiite clerics to rein in radical Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers have staged two uprisings against U.S. forces.
Two of Sistani's aides were murdered on Wednesday. Cleric Mahmoud al-Madaen was killed in Salman Pak, south of Baghdad, along with his son and four guards after prayers.
Halim al-Mohaqeq was found dead in the holy city of Najaf, a historic center of learning. Ahmed Khafaf, a senior Sistani aide, said al-Mohaqeq was killed and found drenched in his blood. But others in Sistani's office played down the incident.
Mohaqeq, 40, of Afghan origin, worked in Sistani's Najaf office. He had strong ties with Sadr followers. The complex rivalries between Shiite leaders is deepening suspicions during sensitive times.
Spreading mistrust
"He wore a black turban, designating descent from the Prophet, but he was also admired as someone who was intellectually solid," said one seminary insider of al-Mohaqeq.
Al-Sistani's aides have been careful not to blame anyone for the killings, but they expect more attacks.
Iranian-born al-Sistani has been a strong supporter of the polls, expected to change the political map of Iraq after eight decades of a Sunni monopoly on power.
While many Sunnis and secular Iraqis admire al-Sistani's moderate views, they say Shiite Islamist groups have been spreading mistrust between sects by staffing the government with their supporters and killing Sunnis who worked in Saddam's government and security apparatus.
