LONDON: The body of a former Iraqi MP killed during a visit to Lebanon was flown back to Baghdad on Saturday with his funeral held later in the day.
Ahmed Al-Alwani was found dead in a Beirut apartment on Monday night, having been hit on the head and strangled.
The prominent Sunni figure from western Anbar province served more than 10 years in prison in Iraq before his release last year.
He was arrested in 2013 on terrorism charges for inciting violence against the Shia-led government during a wave of protests in Sunni areas of the country.
Al-Alwani’s body was flown from Beirut to Baghdad on a private plane accompanied by family members on Saturday morning, Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Ridha Al-Husseini said.
Images from Anbar province later in the day showed his coffin, draped in an Iraqi flag, being carried through the streets during his funeral.
Al-Alwani flew to Beirut from Irbil on Nov. 5 and made his last contact with his team in Iraq that evening after arriving, according to posts on his Facebook page.He checked out of his hotel in the Raouche area of the city within an hour of arriving, Lt. Gen. Saad Maan, head of the Iraqi Security Media Cell, told the Iraq News Agency.
