Najaf, Aug 29: Up to 20 people have been killed by a car bomb in this holy Shiite city - among them leading Shia Muslim politician Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim. The bomb blew up near the Tomb of Ali in the central Iraqi city, one of the holiest shrines for Shia Muslims, just as main weekly prayers were ending.

No group has admitted carrying out the attack
Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim was leaving the shrine after saying Friday prayers when the bomb went off.

The leader of an Iran-backed group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), Ayatollah al-Hakim had returned to Iraq in May, after spending more than two decades in exile in Iran.

Bureau Report