22 Dec 2009

Attacks halt Iran dissident cleric's memorial service

Opponents of Iran's most senior dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri stopped his memorial service in a tumultuous day in Qom on Monday which saw huge protests and some shots fired, websites said.

montazeri

The car of Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi was attacked by "plainclothes men" on motorbikes as he was returning to Tehran from the service in Qom and one member of his entourage was injured, one of the websites said.

The incidents came after huge crowds of Iranians marked Montazeri's funeral in the holy city, 125 km (80 miles) south of Tehran. Websites reported scuffles between mourners and police, with one saying warning shots were fired.

"Around 2,000 of Montazeri's opponents arrived at Azam mosque and halted his memorial service. The assailants tore placards," the conservative Ayande website said, referring to a prominent Qom mosque. Reuters