A senior ally of the radical Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al- Sadr has been assassinated.

Riyad al-Nouri was responsible for running al-Sadr’s office and is reported to be a relative of the cleric.

He was returning from Friday prayers when he was gunned down near his home in Najaf.

The holy Shi’ite city has now been placed under a curfew. Barricades and checkpoints have been erected in the streets.

Moqtada al-Sadr’s Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City has seen intense fighting in recent days. At least 75 people have died this week alone as Iraqi and US troops have targetted so-called “criminal elements” of al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army.