Iraqi poisoned in restaurant

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 6

Iraqi poisoned in restaurant

NZPA-Reuter London An Iraqi businessman who died on Wednesday after being poisoned in a London restaurant appears to have been the victim of a political killing, the police said. A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said the British Anti-Terrorist Squad, normally engaged in cases involving political violence, was hunting three other Iraqis who dined with Abdullah

Rahim Sharif iAli, aged 44, in the west London district of Kensington on January 5. j Mr Ali diedion Wednesday after being admitted to hospital with severe stomach pains that began after the dinner. Police sources said that 10 times the lethal dose of the drug thallium, whibh has no taste, had been found in his body. Scotland Yard declined to comment on any special security arrange-

ments made since Mr All’s death, but extra police have been posted at the Iraqi Embassy and the Cultural Centre, reflecting fears of possible political attacks. The Iraqi Embassy denies any involvement in political violence. Mr Ali’s death came three days after the killing of Mahdi al-Hakim, a prominent Shi’ite Iraqi Opposition leader also living in Britain, who was shot dead in Sudan.