Iraq’s Sadr accuses Al-Maliki of threatening to assassinate him

Leader of Iraq’s Sadrist movement, Muqtada Al-Sadr, yesterday accused the Secretary-General of the Islamic Dawa Party, head of the State of Law coalition and former Prime Minister, Nuri Al-Maliki, of threatening him with “murder” and inciting against the pre-dominantly Shia security group.

This comes after leaked audio recordings appear to capture the Al-Maliki sharply criticising Al-Sadr, vowing to thwart his project, and said that the next stage would be a “fighting phase” in Iraq.

The audio recordings were published by the American-based Iraqi journalist Ali Fadhel. Al-Maliki denied the authenticity of the audio and said that it was “fabricated” and aimed at falsification.

Al-Sadr yesterday published a series of tweets in response to the leaked audio- recordings in which he called on Al-Maliki to resign from political life and turn himself in to the judiciary.

He went on to call on him and his supporters to “jointly denounce” the insults.

“In my killing, there is joy and honour for Israel, America, the terrorists and the corrupt. But it is all surprising that the threat comes from the Dawa Party, which is affiliated with the Al-Sadr family, and specifically from Al-Maliki,” Al- Sadr wrote on Twitter, in reference to his uncle, Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr’s founding of the Dawa Party in 1957.

Al-Sadr said, referring to Al-Maliki: “I advise him to declare seclusion, retire from politics, resort to seek forgiveness or surrender himself with his corrupted collaborators who he protects to the judicial authorities.”

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