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WORLD / Middle East
2 aides to Iraqi Shiite cleric slain
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-21 00:26
BAGHDAD - Two aides to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani were killed in
shootings within hours, prompting his Basra followers to boycott Friday
sermons in protest amid fears that an internal Shiite power struggle was
increasingly targeting Iraq's top Shiite cleric.
The US Embassy resumed limited convoy movements with Blackwater USA
protection in Baghdad, four days after all land travel by US diplomats
and other civilian officials was suspended in response to Iraqi outrage
over the alleged killing of civilians by the American security firm.
US Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said the decision was made after
consultations with the Iraqi governments and the convoys will be allowed
to leave the heavily fortified Green Zone on a select basis.
"All movements supported by the PSDs have to be mission-essential," she
said, referring to an acronym for personal security details run by
Blackwater and other security contractors protecting Westerners and other
dignitaries in Iraq.
A top aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki conceded it may prove
difficult for the Iraqi government to expel Western security contractors.
The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation
into Sunday's incident was ongoing, said a way out of the Blackwater
crisis could be the payment of compensation to victims' families and an
agreement from all sides on a new set of rules for their operations in
Iraq.
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