BAGHDAD - A prominent Iraqi Sunni cleric who urged Islamist armed groups to end their insurgency was critically wounded, and four of his bodyguards killed, when a car bomb hit his convoy in Baghdad on Sunday. Mehdi al-Sumaidai, who once fought U.S. troops in Iraq and was part of a Sunni body issuing religious edicts, had been negotiating with insurgent groups who vowed to fight on after the withdrawal of American troops in December. The attack came as al-Qaida's local wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has warned of a new campaign and security analysts say fighters in Iraq are benefiting from funds and morale from Islamists slipping into Syria to join the revolt against President Basher Assad next door.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)