Iraqi Government Delegation Visits Ill Sistani In London

BAGHDAD, Aug 22 (AFP) - Representatives of Iraq's interim government have visited Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in London where he is recovering after medical treatment, a statement said Sunday.
The top-level delegation met the cleric on Sunday afternoon to express its respects and "deep appreciation for his on-going role for peace and security in Iraq," it said.
"We very much hope that he will return safely to Iraq when his doctors allow, considering his presence there is important for our entire nation," said senior official Zuhair Abdul Ghani Humadi from the council of ministers secretariat.
The 73-year-old cleric left a London hospital on Thursday after treatment for a heart condition, but it is not clear how long he would remain in Britain.
His sudden departure from his base in the central Iraqi city of Najaf coincided with fierce fighting there between militiamen loyal to renegade Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr and US-led forces.