Gunmen Murder Cleric Outside Mosul Mosque in a Shia Neighborhood

[Ali Mortada]

According to Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir) "On Sunday, militants killed Sheikh Dawoud al-Anzi in a shooting outside the Habibana al-Mustafa Mosque in the al-Zahraa neighborhood after the clergyman had finished evening prayers," an Iraqi police source said.

"Sheikh Anzi was rushed to a nearby hospital after the attack, but he succumbed to his injuries," the source, who was not identified, added.

The assailants fled the scene in a vehicle and their whereabouts are unknown.

Security forces cordoned off the area after the attack and launched an investigation to discover the motives behind the act of terrorism.

Mosul — a volatile ethnic mix of Sunni Arabs, Kurds, and Christians — has been the scene of frequent shootings and bombings.

US commanders regard the once cosmopolitan city as the last urban bastion of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The capital city of Iraq's Nineveh province is situated some 396 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of Baghdad