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. Al-Khoei returned to his home in Najaf last week under the protection of the US forces.
Ali Jabr, a member of the London-based Khoei foundation, confirmed to Reuters by phone that Abdel Majid was dead. 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 from the Iranian holy city of Qom that Abdul Majid was stabbed to death at the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf. "An hour ago we talked to the persons who were with him at the time of the incident. They said he was martyred by treacherous hands," Jawad al-Khoei said.
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