Iraq: Leading cleric urges release of kidnapped Qatari hunters

Omar al-Jawoshy writes for the New York Times :

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most important Shiite cleric, on Friday called for the immediate release of a group of at least 26 Qatari hunters who were abducted while on a government-approved safari in southern Iraq more than a week ago. Ayatollah Sistani’s statement, released through his representative, Ahmed al-Safi, in the holy city of Karbala, said that “the central government must help to free all the abducted hunters” and called the kidnapping wrong and bound to “harm the country’s reputation.” No group has claimed responsibility for the seizure of the Qataris, who included some members of Qatar’s royal family. The ayatollah, whose proclamations are influential among Iraq’s Shiite majority, spoke a day after Arab League foreign ministers also called for the release of the captives. There has been speculation that Shiite militias in southern Iraq are responsible.