The Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement posted on its
website that it killed Ali Al-Lami, who was shot to death on May 26 in Baghdad.
He headed a committee tasked with rooting out members of
Saddam’s Baath Party and keeping them from certain government jobs.
Last year, the committee barred hundreds of candidates from
running in elections. Most were from the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc. The ban
outraged Sunnis, who viewed it as an attempt to keep their candidates from
gaining power.
Al-Lami was arrested by US and Iraqi forces in 2008. At the
time, US officials accused him of being involved in a bombing that killed eight
people, including two American soldiers and two State Department employees. He
denied the charges. The US later handed him over to Iraqi custody and he was
released without trial.
Also Friday, hundreds of Iraqis rallied in Baghdad’s Tahrir
Square in dueling pro- and anti-government demonstrations.
Supporters of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki descended on the
square for a rally that appeared to be an attempt to overshadow the small group
of anti-government protesters who demonstrate weekly in the capital.
The anti-government group criticized Al-Maliki for failing
to improve government services after his self-imposed time limit for doing so
expired June 7.
Meanwhile, two separate attacks in Baghdad killed three
people, including two army officers, police and health officials said. The
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
speak to the media.
