Saddam's tribal leader is assassinated

The head of Saddam Hussein’s tribal clan was killed by a bomb planted on his car today.

Sheik Ali al-Nida was chief of Iraq’s al-Bu Nasir tribe, a large Sunni Arab clan of about 20,000 members, including Saddam’s family.

As the head of clan, al-Nida ,65, received Saddam’s body after his 2006 execution, and arranged the former dictator’s funeral. In 2007, he founded a so-called Awakening Council in Saddam’s home village of Ouja, partnering with US forces to fight Sunni militants in the area.

Al-Nida and one of his guards died when the bomb that had been glued to the underneath of his car exploded as they drove through the Wadi Shishain area of Tikrit.

Members of Saddam’s tribe have been targeted before, but it was unclear whether it was because of their ties to the former Iraqi dictator or because of long-standing tribal rivalries.

Al-Nida’s brother, Mahmoud al-Nida, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in summer 2006.