BAGHDAD, Dec 5: Former Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi on Monday stood by a claim that he was nearly assassinated in a mosque in Najaf and suggested unidentified foreigners may have been involved. Mr Allawi said that in Sunday’s attack men in and around the Imam Ali shrine had been armed with guns and long knives. He fled the mosque when an angry crowd pelted him with rocks, tomatoes and shoes. “I got hit with a stone here,” said Iyad Allawi, pointing to a small mark on the right side of his chin. “I think they aimed the stone at my upper head in an attempt to knock me down.”—Reuters
