Powerful Iranian cleric killed in attack

Iranian Shiite cleric Ayatollah Abbas Ali. Credit: AFP Photo

A powerful Iranian cleric, a member of the Assembly of Experts that selects the country's supreme leader, has been killed in an armed attack, state media said Wednesday.

"Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani was killed this morning in an armed attack... the assailant was also arrested," IRNA news agency reported, citing an official. The attack took place in the north of Iran.