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NAJAF, Iraq - The murder of a pro-Western cleric in this holy city two weeks ago removed America's most promising Shiite Muslim ally and now threatens to fracture Iraq's Shiite majority into warring factions. As accusations reverberate over who was behind the violence, a senior religious authority of the Grand Imam Ali Mosque, where Shiite leader Abdul Majid al Khoei was killed on April 10, said the murderers were followers of Moqtada al Sadr, a fiery young Shiite cleric. Jabar Khanee Jaafer, the mosque's deputy custodian, described the murder in an exclusive and emotional interview with a Knight Ridder...

Armed men continued to besiege the home of Shia spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on Sunday giving him until Monday to leave the country or face attack, aides to the cleric claimed. The stand-off is a worrying sign of volatility and religious strife among Iraq’s majority community and raises concerns of national unity in post-war Iraq. Tensions are rising among Najaf's Shia community Kuwait-based Ayatollah Abul Qasim Dibaji accused Jimaat-E-Sadr-Thani, led by Moqdada Sadr, of trying to take control of the holy sites of Iraq. “Armed thugs and hooligans have had the house of Ayatollah Sistani under siege since...

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Senior Iraqi Shi'ite leaders said on Saturday that a radical Muslim group led by an ambitious young rival orchestrated the killing of cleric Abdul Majid al-Khoei in Najaf this week. Khoei was hacked to death by a mob at Imam Ali Shrine, the holiest Shi'ite site, days after he returned from exile in London to help Iraq make the transition to democracy. Iraqi Shi'ite leaders said Jimaat-e-Sadr-Thani, a splinter group led by Moqtada Sadr, the 22-year-old son of a late spiritual leader in Iraq, carried out Thursday's attack which left al-Khoei and another cleric dead. "The attackers...

Armed groups order Shi'ite leader to quit Iraq By Mehrdad Balali KUWAIT, April 13 (Reuters) - Armed radical groups have surrounded the house of Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric in the central city of Najaf, giving him 48 hours to leave the country, aides to the cleric said on Sunday. "Armed thugs and hooligans have had the house of (Grand) Ayatollah (Ali) Sistani under siege since yesterday. They have told him to either leave Iraq in 48 hours or they would attack," Kuwait-based Ayatollah Abulqasim Dibaji told Reuters. "Total terror reigns in Najaf. They have told other ayatollahs to leave...

Iraqi Shi'ite leader al-Khoei assassinated in Najaf KUWAIT, April 10 (Reuters) - Senior Iraqi Sh'ite leader Abdul Majid al-Khoei was assassinated at the mosque in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday, a member of his family foundation told Reuters. Ali Jabr, a member of the London-based Khoei foundation, confirmed to Reuters by phone that Abdel Majid was dead. The murder is sure to raise tensions among Iraq's majority Shi'ite population. Majid is the son of the late Grand Ayatollah al-Khoei, spiritual leader of Iraq's Shi'ites at the time of the 1991 Gulf War. Al-Khoei's nephew, Jawad al-Khoei, told Reuters...