Ahmed Shibani is a senior aide to radical
Shia
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr (; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi Shia Muslim cleric, politician and militia leader. He inherited the leadership of the Sadrist Movement from his father, and founded the now dissolved Mahdi Army militia in 2003 that resisted ...
, whose political movement plays a key role in
Iraq's power-sharing coalition.
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Mr Shibani met
Nouri Maliki
Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki (; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President ...
hours after Iraqi government officials said they were talking with
insurgent groups.
The US-led coalition said Shibani could help moderate extremism in Iraq.
In a statement, the coalition said leaders judged that Mr Shibani "could play a potentially important role in helping to moderate extremism and foster reconciliation in Iraq."
The
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
jailed Shibani at a military prison more than two years ago after detaining him during an uprising against the occupation in the Shia town of
Najaf
Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...
.
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References
Iraqi politicians
Iraqi Shia Muslims
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
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