Arrest Warrant Issued for Radical Iraq Cleric
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2004 11:00 am
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - An Iraqi judge issued an arrest warrant for radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in connection with the murder of another cleric last year, a senior spokesman for the U.S.-led authorities in Iraq said Monday.
Dan Senor said the arrest warrant had been issued several months ago. U.S. officials have accused Sadr of inciting violence, and shut down his newspaper in Baghdad last week.
Asked when Sadr would be arrested, Senor said: "There will be no advance warning." One of his senior aides was detained on Saturday in relation to the same assassination.
Sadr commands strong support among Iraq's majority Shi'ites, especially urban poor in Baghdad who rally to his anti-occupation rhetoric and his promises that Shi'ites once oppressed by Saddam Hussein will come to dominate Iraq. The warrant links him to the murder of Ayatollah Abdul Majid al-Khoei, hacked to death at a Najaf mosque in April 2003 by a mob that also killed one of Khoei's aides. Senior clerics at the time blamed the killings on a group linked to Sadr. Sadr's group denied the charge.
Coalition forces detained Sadr's aide Mustapha Yacoubi at his Najaf home Saturday. His detention stoked anti-American demonstrations across Iraq, many of which turned violent.
At least 48 Iraqis, eight American soldiers and one Salvadoran were killed in clashes in Baghdad and Najaf Sunday.
Dan Senor said the arrest warrant had been issued several months ago. U.S. officials have accused Sadr of inciting violence, and shut down his newspaper in Baghdad last week.
Asked when Sadr would be arrested, Senor said: "There will be no advance warning." One of his senior aides was detained on Saturday in relation to the same assassination.
Sadr commands strong support among Iraq's majority Shi'ites, especially urban poor in Baghdad who rally to his anti-occupation rhetoric and his promises that Shi'ites once oppressed by Saddam Hussein will come to dominate Iraq. The warrant links him to the murder of Ayatollah Abdul Majid al-Khoei, hacked to death at a Najaf mosque in April 2003 by a mob that also killed one of Khoei's aides. Senior clerics at the time blamed the killings on a group linked to Sadr. Sadr's group denied the charge.
Coalition forces detained Sadr's aide Mustapha Yacoubi at his Najaf home Saturday. His detention stoked anti-American demonstrations across Iraq, many of which turned violent.
At least 48 Iraqis, eight American soldiers and one Salvadoran were killed in clashes in Baghdad and Najaf Sunday.
