Second Sunni cleric gunned down in Iraq

Masked gunmen today assassinated a Sunni cleric north of Baghdad, police said - the second such killing in as many days.

Sheik Ghalib Ali al-Zuhairi was a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential Sunni clerics group that has spoken out against nationwide elections to be held on January 30.

Al-Zuhairi was shot as he was leaving Thiyaba Mosque in the town of Muqdadiyah after dawn prayers, said Col Raisan Hussein. He was taken to Muqdadiya Hospital where he later died. Muqdadiyah is about 57 miles north of Baghdad.

A day earlier, unknown gunmen assassinated another prominent Sunni cleric in the northern city of Mosul – Sheik Faidh Mohamed Amin al-Faidhi, who was the brother of the group’s spokesman.

It was unclear whether there was any connection between the two murders.

The Association of Muslim Scholars, considered one of the most influential Sunni groups in Iraq, has loudly opposed the US assault against the rebel stronghold of Fallujah and promised to boycott national elections.