Hakim’s body could arrive on Friday

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: The body of Sayyid Abdilaziz al-Hakim could arrive in Basra on Friday morning on its way to Baghdad or Najaf, a high ranking figure of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) said on Thursday. “Official figures in addition to the public will be awaiting the body,” Furat al-Sharea told Iraqi News. A source from Basra International Airport said that all official permissions have been granted for the airplane to land. The cleric died on Wednesday (Aug. 26) after his medical team had failed to prevent 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 the SIIC. The SIIC is part of Iraq’s ruling Shiite alliance, which also includes Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa party, but the SIIC announced this week it would lead a new group to compete in January’s polls without Maliki. MH (P)/SR 1