Ayatollah Sistani's Follower and the Preacher of al-Zahraa Mosque Martyred in Diwaniya

The Shi'a preacher of al-Zahraa Mosque and a follower of top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani was shot martyred while he was on the way to the mosque for the dawn prayers in central al-Diwaniya city on Tuesday, an official security source said.

 The Shi'a preacher of al-Zahraa Mosque and a follower of top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani was shot martyred while he was on the way to the mosque for the dawn prayers in central al-Diwaniya city on Tuesday, an official security source said.

“Ali Hussein Ali was shot martyred by unknown gunmen just outside his house in al-Imam al-Sadiq neighborhood in Diwaniya,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on condition of anonymity.

He said that security agencies have taken tight measures for the past three weeks but there were breaches here and there in Diwaniya and could not put an end to assassinations targeting clerics and tribal chiefs.

“More than one assassination took place during that period.

The murders mostly targeted chieftains and men of religion followers of Sayyid Sistani,” the source said, adding 18 assassinations were carried out since 2011.