Reply #5: AFP confirms: Iraq Shiite leader targeted by assassins [View All]

[Barrett808]

Iraq Shiite leader targeted by assassins, Bush says war an "act of justice"
15 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The revered spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, escaped an assassination bid, his office said, on the eve of a visit by a UN team assessing his demand for direct elections.

Initial reports of the assassination attempt were sketchy, but a source close to Sistani told AFP that a man tried to break into his office to carry out "a criminal act targeting" the ayatollah, but was caught by bodyguards.

The report, which could not be immediately confirmed, contradicted earlier television reports that a group of gunmen sprayed Sistani's car with bullets as the cleric was leaving his office for his home in the pilgrimage city of Najaf, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad.

Sistani's office a short time later confirmed an attack had taken place but offered no further details.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040205/ts_afp/iraq_worldwrap&cid=1503&ncid=1480