Gunmen kill representative of top Shiite cleric in Iraq

Gunmen shot dead representative of the most revered Shiite cleric in Iraq Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistani in the holy Shiite city of Najaf on Wednesday, local police source said.

"Three armed men gunned down Sheikh Raheem al-Hasnawi late Tuesday night in front of his house in the Jazira neighborhood in Najaf," the source from Najaf police told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The victim was the representative of Sistani in the al-Meshkhab town, some 40 km south of Najaf, before he joined the main Sistani 's office in Najaf earlier in the year.

Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, is the first sacred city for the Shiite Muslims in the world as it hosts the shrine of the Imam Ali, cousin of Prophet of Muhammed.

Source: Xinhua