Bomb rips through Shiite cleric's home

BAGHDAD - A bomb has ripped through the home of one of Iraq's most important Muslim Shiite clerics in the holy city of Najaf, killing three guards and injuring family members, a relative of the cleric said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was scaling back its Baghdad operations after receiving warnings that the organisation might be a terror target.

And in a bid to expand intelligence gathering and root out the resistance behind recent guerrilla attacks against US troops and bombings, US authorities were recruiting key ex-members of Saddam Hussein's feared security service Mukhabarat, Iraqi sources said.

The US recruitment of about 100 former intelligence officials had been in progress for more than two weeks, the sources said.

"It was obvious they would have to turn to the Mukhabarat, they knew everything in this country," one of the Iraqis said.

"The Americans couldn't hope to pacify such a big country as Iraq without the Mukhabarat. And the Mukhabarat men, they need money now," said a second Iraqi.

Paul Bremer, the civilian chief of the Iraq occupation, said the country did not need more US military forces but did need better intelligence.

"It's not a question of more troops, it's a question of being effective with our intelligence, getting more Iraqis to help us," Bremer said.

In Najaf, the bomb was placed along the outside wall of the home of Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim, and exploded after noon prayers, according to Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a member of Iraq's US-picked governing council and leader of what was the armed wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq - based in Iran before the war.

Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim, who is in his late 60s, suffered scratches on his neck.

The two men are part of the influential Shiite al-Hakim family. Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim is the brother of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council.

"Obviously terrorist groups who belong to the former regime are behind this incident," Abdel-Aziz Hakim said.

Iraqi newspapers had reported that Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim had received threats against his life.

Herald Feature: Iraq