Al-Sistani Heading To London For Heart Treatment

Airport security officials in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, said al-Sistani arrived on a chartered jet from Iraq and later left for London on a regularly scheduled airline flight.

Al-Sistani's spokesman in Beirut, Sheikh Hamed Khafaf, said the cleric suffered a "health crisis related to his heart" a few days ago, and was going to London for specialized medical care. The spokesman said that al-Sistani was not in a "deteriorated state."

As the top religious figure for Iraq's Shi'a Muslim majority, the 73-year-old al-Sistani is a powerful figure in Iraqi politics. UN and other officials have regularly sought his support on their policy proposals for Iraq.

(Reuters/AP)