Thousands see off al-Hakim in Baghdad and Karbala. Funeral tomorrow in al-Najaf
Iraq, Politics, 9/1/2003

Thousands of Iraqis yesterday in Baghdad and Karbala saw off Ayatollah Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim who was killed on Friday in the al-Najaf attack, as Iraqi police accused "Wahhabi foreign" elements of carrying out this attack and said it arrested 19 of them, adding, simultaneously it is searching for three booby trapped cars that entered the city for fear of other aggressions.

Crowded masses took part in seeing off al-Hakim in the Shiite al- Kazameyah quarters in Baghdad and expressed great sadness for the killing of the Shiite leader whose remains were put in a funeral carried on the shoulders and the crowded chanted "Allah Akbar" and "al-Hakim has shaken America."

The Iraqi police announced on Saturday the arrest of 4 persons. Two Iraqis and two Saudis, immediately after the aggression which it said they admitted of committing it. The source added that the two detainees are "two Iraqis from al- Basra of the supporters of the former regime and the two others are Arab Wahhabi," in remarks to that they belong to the thinking of al-Qaida network led by Osama Bin Laden.

A high ranking official in the Iraqi police said that the detainees gave information that resulted in detaining other 15 Iraqis including Kuwaitis and 6 Palestinians carrying Jordanian passports, while others are from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The official added that preliminary information indicates that the detainees entered Iraq through Kuwait, Syria and Jordan and the official stressed that all detainees are Wahhabis and "all of them are linked to al-Qaida organization."

Previous Stories:
  Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim killed in bomb explosion; wide condemnations   (8/30/2003)
  Top Muslim cleric denies fatwa on IGC recognition   (8/28/2003)
  Grand Imam of Al- Azhar calls for conveying authority to Iraqi people   (8/28/2003)

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