Illness and Death
On May 16, 2007 he flew to Houston for medical treatment. Reportedly he had lung cancer. On May 20, 2007, Mr. Hakim left the U.S. for Iran, in order to receive chemotherapy treatment. On August 26, 2009 Abdel Aziz al-Hakim died in a Tehran hospital after a long battle with lung cancer. He was buried in Najaf on August 29, on the same day of his brother, who was killed exactly six years earlier. Hasan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanese Shia resistance group Hizbollah issued an emotional statement regarding the death of Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim. The statement spoke of the "struggle" of Al-Hakim to "rescue" and "uplift the Iraqi people." This drew criticism and calls of sectarianism from political commentator Asad Abukhalil due to the role of Abdul Aziz Al Hakim in the US occupation of Iraq.
Read more about this topic: Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim
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