Basra, 10 August (AKI) - Armed assailants in four-wheel drive vehicles on Thursday attacked the office of Ayatollah al-Sayyid Mahmud al-Hasani in Basra Governorate in southern Iraq, a source from the office told the Iraqi TV network al-Sharqiyah. Al-Hasani's supporters confronted the armed men who used around 30 vehicles laden with heavy weapons, al-Sharqiyah reported. Many of the attackers were killed and a number of al-Hasani's supporters were injured in the clashes, which occurred infront of British forces in Basra, the source said.
The source blamed the attack on the Basra governor and members of the Shiite Islamic Virtue Party of which the governor is a member, as well as some policemen and Iraq's Major Crimes Directorate, all of whom reportedly want to close Al-Sayyid al-Hasani's office in Basra.
Britain, which has 7,000 troops in southern Iraq, with its command located in Basra, last month handed over security in neighbouring Muthanna province to Iraqi forces, the first such handover since the country was invaded in 2003. It is hoped the Muthanna handover will provide a blueprint for further handovers.
The Islamic Virtue Party is one of over 20 groups in Iraq's Shiite dominated United Iraqi Alliance that holds 128 out of 275 seats in the parliament. 
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