Hakim’s body to arrive in Iraq tom.

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The body of Shiite leader Abdulaziz al-Hakim on Thursday will arrive in Iraq to be buried in the holy city of Najaf, a source close to his family said today. “The body of Abdulaziz al-Hakim, who died earlier today in a hospital in the Iranian capital Tehran will be flown to Iraq after the conclusion of farewell ceremonies at the headquarters of the Iraqi embassy in Tehran on Thursday morning,” the source told Iraqi News. “The body will arrive in Baghdad to be buried in the holy city of Najaf,” the source noted. Earlier today, al-Furat satellite channel announced his death in a Urgent. The cleric died after his medical team had failed to prevent a deterioration in his health. Ammar al-Hakim, son of Abdulaziz al-Hakim, announced in an urgent statement the death of his father, praising his history in fighting the former regime and consoling the Iraqi people and the Islamic world. Al-Hakim, born in 1950, headed the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) since 2003, after his brother, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim, was killed in a car bomb. Abdulaziz al-Hakim’s son Ammar al-Hakim is expected to next lead SIIC. SIIC is part of Iraq’s ruling Shiite alliance, which also includes Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa party, but SIIC announced this week it would lead a new group to compete in January’s polls without Maliki. SS (S)/SR 1