Hakim house targetted by bomber

Shi'ite cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, spent years in exile in Iran before returning to Iraq. In December, Hakim met with Bush in Washington, shortly before the administration attempted to coordinate Prime Minister Maliki's ouster with Hakim chosen by Washington to be the power-broker behind the scenes. Hakim is also head of the Badr Brigade, a Shi'ite militia. Last week, the U.S. raided the Baratha mosque in Baghdad, which is associated with Hakim. The U.S. military says it was targetted for 'illegally armed militia kidnapping, torture and murder activities'.

BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomber attacked a checkpoint protecting the home of one of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders, Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, yesterday killing at least three civilians and wounding seven.

An Interior Ministry official said the attacker was shot as he drove towards a road barrier in Baghdad's Jadriyah district.

Thousands of Shi'ites, meanwhile, protested the US detention on Friday of Hakim's son, Ammar Hakim, 35, in cities throughout the Shi'ite south. Ammar Hakim said in Najaf that he was handcuffed, blindfolded and his security guards were "strongly abused" before he was set free.

Read the rest at Gulf Daily News

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