Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: News & Videos about Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani

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Bombs targeting worshippers kill 20 in Iraq

Suicide attacks outside two Shiite mosques killed at least 20 people in Baghdad on Thursday as worshippers left early morning prayers marking the end of Ramadan, the Interior Ministry said.

Bombs targeting worshippers leave 20 dead

Suicide attacks outside two Shiite mosques killed at least 20 people in Baghdad on Thursday as worshippers left early morning prayers to mark the end of Ramadan, the Interior Ministry said.

Web site of influential Shiite cleric hacked

The Web site of Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric was hacked on Friday, with the attackers' messages saying they are Sunnis upset over fatwas, or edicts, issued on the site.

Time.com: Shiite Cleric Ambushed in Iraq

Gunmen seriously wounded a Shiite cleric and an outspoken critic of sectarian militias in an ambush Sunday

Four U.S. troops killed in Baghdad

Four U.S. soldiers were killed in Baghdad on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 15 so far this week.

Cult plotted attack on Shiite clerics, Iraqis say

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and other top Shiite religious figures were the apparent targets of a plot by a Muslim messianic cult intent on seizing the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraqi officials said.

Officials: Insurgents aimed to kill top Shiite clerics

A battle between U.S.-backed Iraqi troops and insurgents raged into Monday morning after Iraqi officials said they foiled a plot to attack pilgrims and kill leading clerics in the Shiite Muslim holy city.

Shiite leaders seek unified front to battle violence

The powerful Shiite-led political bloc in Iraq's Parliament will meet with the country's lead ayatollah and the anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to promote Shiite unity and persuade al-Sadr followers to rejoin the government, a member of the Alliance said.

Bombs rip though holiday market in Iraq

Between 18 and 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded Saturday in an attack at an outdoor market in a Mahmoudiya town, Iraqi authorities said.

Ministry: Iraq families join exodus to escape violence

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to escape the war and escalating sectarian violence in Iraq, the country's Ministry of Displaced Persons and Immigration announced Wednesday.

Bombs targeting worshippers kill 20 in Iraq

Suicide attacks outside two Shiite mosques killed at least 20 people in Baghdad on Thursday as worshippers left early morning prayers marking the end of Ramadan, the Interior Ministry said.

Bombs targeting worshippers leave 20 dead

Suicide attacks outside two Shiite mosques killed at least 20 people in Baghdad on Thursday as worshippers left early morning prayers to mark the end of Ramadan, the Interior Ministry said.

Web site of influential Shiite cleric hacked

The Web site of Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric was hacked on Friday, with the attackers' messages saying they are Sunnis upset over fatwas, or edicts, issued on the site.

Time.com: Shiite Cleric Ambushed in Iraq

Gunmen seriously wounded a Shiite cleric and an outspoken critic of sectarian militias in an ambush Sunday

Four U.S. troops killed in Baghdad

Four U.S. soldiers were killed in Baghdad on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 15 so far this week.

Cult plotted attack on Shiite clerics, Iraqis say

Officials: Insurgents aimed to kill top Shiite clerics

Shiite leaders seek unified front to battle violence

Bombs rip though holiday market in Iraq

Between 18 and 20 people were killed and dozens were wounded Saturday in an attack at an outdoor market in a Mahmoudiya town, Iraqi authorities said.

Ministry: Iraq families join exodus to escape violence

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to escape the war and escalating sectarian violence in Iraq, the country's Ministry of Displaced Persons and Immigration announced Wednesday.

Rice: End Iraqi political stalemate

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday called for an end to the "political vacuum" in Iraq and for the Iraqis to form a new government.

Rice, Straw to Iraqis: 'The time has come'

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterpart, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, flew to Baghdad on Sunday for a visit aimed at jump-starting the process of forming a national unity government.

Curfew extended to stem revenge attacks

Iraqi authorities announced another daytime curfew Saturday for Baghdad and its neighboring provinces, just as mortars struck near a shrine sacred to both Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

Bomb kills 25 in Iraq

A pickup truck carrying dates and packed with explosives blew up and killed at least 25 people in a market in a small Shiite town north of Baquba on Saturday, an interior ministry official said.

U.S. offensive begins after attacks on Marines

The U.S. military has launched a new offensive against insurgents and foreign fighters in western Iraq's Anbar province, an area that has been the scene of a string of deadly attacks on American forces this week.

Aide to influential Shiite cleric killed

A suicide car bomb killed a person outside an office of the Iraqi prime minister's political party, and in a separate incident in Baghdad Friday, an aide to Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric was gunned down, police said.

Iraqi Oil Ministry official gunned down

An official from Iraq's Oil Ministry was gunned down Thursday morning in western Baghdad, police said.

Gunmen in Iraq kill top Shiite cleric's aide

An aide to Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric was shot to death Thursday in Baghdad, police said, the second of his aides killed this week.

At least 55 bodies found in Iraq

Iraqi police have found at least 55 corpses in six locations, including those from a dozen men executed Sunday, police said.

Iraqi assembly to meet March 16

The newly elected Iraqi National Assembly is scheduled to have its first meeting March 16, political officials have told CNN.

U.S., Iraqis continue major insurgent roundup

A major joint operation of U.S. and Iraqi forces continued for a seventh day as troops searched for suspected insurgents Saturday in towns along the Euphrates river in violent Anbar province.

Iraqi leaders wrangle for leadership post

One of the leading contenders for Iraq's prime minister post told reporters on Friday that he had picked up the backing of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the senior Shiite cleric in Iraq.

U.S. lawmakers: Iraqi vote gives minorities influence

Iraq's minority coalitions have a chance to strongly influence formation of the nation's new government, two key members of the U.S. Senate said on Sunday.

Iraq to announce election results Sunday

As violence continued near the Iraqi capital Saturday, the chairman of the Independent Election Commission of Iraq said results of the January 30 elections will be announced Sunday afternoon.

Attacks kill at least 21 in Shiite areas

Insurgents attacked three apparent Shiite Muslim targets in central Iraq on Friday, killing at least 21 people, police said.

Bodies of 8 Iraqi police commandos found

As Iraqi election officials counted ballots Saturday from the country's recent vote, police found the bodies of eight slain comrades near Baghdad.

Shiite bloc takes lead in early Iraqi election results

Preliminary results from Iraq's election released Friday show that the predominantly Shiite Muslim south backed the party of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, over the secular party of interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

January 30 Iraqi elections facts

Five days ahead of Iraq's January 30 elections, here are some facts about the balloting and the process itself.

Abu Ghraib prisoners escape

Iraqi police are on the lookout for 28 Abu Ghraib prisoners who escaped while en route to Baghdad for trial.

Car bomb outside mosque kills seven

A car bomb was detonated outside a Shia mosque Thursday night, killing four Iraqi police officers and three civilians and wounding 30 others, a U.S. military spokesman said.

A stealth campaign

Americans, who have just endured the endless 2004 presidential campaign in which no detail about the candidates was too picayune to get saturation coverage, would find little that was familiar in the campaigning now under way in Iraq.

Bomb kills 7 near Iraq mosque

A bomb killed seven Iraqis and wounded 32 on Wednesday near the Imam Hussein mosque in Karbala, police sources told CNN.

New Iraqi group to compete in elections

A coalition fielding 228 candidates and supported by Iraq's top Shiite cleric has been formed to compete in the January 30 national elections.

Chalabi survives convoy attack

Suspected insurgents fired mortars near the meeting of Iraq's new 100-member National Council and ambushed a convoy of Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi on his way to the session.

Al-Sadr 'calls for Iraqi truce'

A top aide for Muqtada al-Sadr has said the maverick Shiite cleric "has called for a cease-fire by the Mehdi Army in all provinces of Iraq unless it is in the case of self-defense."

Al-Sadr militia swaps prisoners with Iraq

The Mehdi Army and Iraqi security forces started exchanging prisoners late Friday, according to an Iraqi police source.

CNNMoney: Stocks and oil mix

U.S. stock futures were mixed Thursday as oil prices declined and jobless claims rose.

Ayatollah reaches peace deal with al-Sadr

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has reached an agreement with the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani that grants his freedom from murder charges and secures peace in war-torn Najaf, al-Sistani aides said Thursday.

Al-Sistani returns to Iraq, urges march on Najaf

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most powerful Shiite Muslim cleric, called on Iraqis Wednesday to march to Najaf to help rescue the holy city, site of nearly three weeks of fighting between insurgents and U.S. and Iraqi troops.

Fighting resumes around Najaf shrine

Fighting between U.S. forces and fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr continued into the early morning hours Sunday, with explosions heard near the Imam Ali Mosque.

Prime minister backs constitution

The Iraqi prime minister's office said Wednesday it is committed to Transitional Administrative Law, a document backed by Kurdish leaders and opposed by the country's top Shiite cleric in a dispute that could lead to a governmental crisis.

Car bombs kill 11 in 2 Iraqi cities

Deadly car bombs in two Iraqi cities and other violence Tuesday gave a sense of urgency to the U.N. Security Council's deliberations over a vote on a U.S- and British-backed resolution on Iraq.

New Iraq leaders get cleric's nod

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite leader, has given tacit approval to the country's new U.N.-appointed interim government.

Who is Muqtada al-Sadr?

How has Muqtada al-Sadr gotten so much attention? Believed to be about 30 years old, al-Sadr is the son of a grand ayatollah but U.S. officials think his support is relatively small, and concentrated among the young and poor.

New interim constitution for Iraq

Calling it a new beginning for their country, Iraqi Governing Council members Monday signed an interim constitution, laying the groundwork for future elections, a permanent constitution and eventually a return to self-rule.

Arraf: Constitution was so close

A highly anticipated signing ceremony for Iraq's interim constitution was halted Friday after Shiite members of the Iraqi Governing Council pulled out over concerns voiced by the top Shiite cleric in Iraq.

Reports: Iraqi cleric agrees to vote delay

The most powerful Shiite cleric in Iraq indicated Thursday that he agrees with the United Nations that direct elections for an Iraqi legislature cannot be held by June 30, according to local newspapers and political officials.

Cleric's office denies assassins targeted him

Reports of an assassination attempt on Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, are not true, the cleric's office said Friday.

U.N. election team heading to Iraq

The United Nations has said it expects to send election advisers to Baghdad soon despite a warning by U.S. military officials of a rise in violence ahead of Iraqi independence.

Chalabi joins call for direct elections in Iraq

A leading member of the Iraqi Governing Council called Friday for nationwide direct elections in Iraq, echoing a growing number of voices in the country seeking elections before the United States hands over sovereignty July 1.

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