Two Shia clerics killed in Iraq drive-by shooting

Baghdad: Two Shia clerics were gunned down by unidentified gunmen in a drive-by shooting in Baghdad Friday, a police source said. Sheikh Arif Abdul Razak, Imam of al-Shorouq mosque in the Shaab district northeast of Baghdad, was killed after he left the mosque by unidentified assailants, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Another cleric accompanying him was also killed in the incident, he said. Earlier in the day, insurgents using silenced weapons opened fire on another cleric in eastern Baghdad`s eastern district of Mustinsaria, wounding him and killing his driver, the source added. Sunni insurgents in Iraq have been blamed for series of attacks on Shia Muslims in recent years. The attacks are believed to have undermined the Shia-led government and reignited sectarian tensions. IANS