Rod Nordland and Abeer Mohammed offer "Sunni Lawmaker Assassinated in Iraq" in today's New York Times about the murder of Harith al-Obaidi yesterday:
Mr. Obaidi had devoted part of his sermon to prison abuse, a controversial issue because most Iraqi prisoners have connections with sectarian militias. Many are often held for long periods without trial if the government sees them as political opponents, particularly in the case of Sunnis.
Yesterday's press reports repeatedly carried statements that the killer was or appeared 15-years-old and then the police declared he was 25. Nordland and Mohammed cite a hospital official who says he appears 27-years-old and had fake i.d. listing his age as nineteen.
al-Obaida's funeral was today and Al Jazeera observes it was the country's "first state funeral since the US-led invasion in 2003" while Waleed Ibrahim (Reuters) adds, "Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and lawmakers from across Iraq's political spectrum watched as a white-clad honour guard carried Ubaidi's coffin and the other containing his sister's husband, a close aide, who was among five other people killed." On this day in history, AP reminds, "Five years ago: In Iraq, gunmen assassinated senior Education Ministry official Kamal al-Jarah."
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