Sadrist leader assassinated in Kirkuk

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: A leader in the Sadrist Movement, led by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, has been killed by unknown gunmen in southern Kirkuk, a local security source said on Monday. “The police received reports that unknown gunmen had killed a man with silencer-equipped gun inside a foodstuffs store in al-Asra wal Mafqodeen neighborhood (southern Kirkuk) at 08:30 p.m. yesterday (Nov.8),” Col. Anwar Qadir told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Preliminary investigations have shown that the victim was Hadi Issa al-Thihabi, a key leader in the Sadrist Movement in Kirkuk,” the colonel noted. The source did not provide further details. Kirkuk, an oil-rich and mixed city of Kurds, Turkmen, Christians and Arabs, lies 250 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1