Iraqi comedian gunned down in Baghdad, to be buried in holy city

Relatives and colleagues of Walid Hassan, the popular actor whose TV show provided hard-pressed Iraqis with comic relief by poking fun at everything from Iraqi politicians to long lines at gas stations, took his body to the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Tuesday to bury him.

Hassan's casket was tied atop a taxi as it was driven to Najaf from Yarmouk Hospital's morgue in western Baghdad. Before it left, the grieving relatives and friends, including several crying women wearing head-to-toe black gowns, gathered around it to mourn.

The drive to Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, can be long and treacherous, passing through many checkpoints and areas controlled by Sunni-Arab militants in Iraq's so-called "Triangle of Death."

Haasan, 47, a Shiite star of "Caricature," a weekend show on Al-Sharqiyah TV known for its dark humor about the country's many problems, was shot to death while driving through Baghdad on Monday. As with many other killings in Baghdad, the identify of the Iraqis who shot Hassan, a father of five children, was not known, police said.

"He was an actor who made fun of the miserable situation in our country, not a politician. But some people don't like that, so he was assassinated to silence him," one grieving fan, Namiq Hassan, 42, an Oil Ministry employee, said in Baghdad on Monday.

Hassan was one of five actors in "Caricature," a 45-minute comedy satire, that did not hesitate to make fun of U.S. forces, Shiite militias, Sunni-Arab insurgent groups, and the chaotic Iraqi governments that have tried to rule this country since Saddam Hussain was overthrown in the 2003 invasion.

Iraqis weary of the tumult around them - from widespread killings and kidnappings, to inadequate power and water supplies - have turned to the TV show to watch Hassan and his fellow actors portray policemen taking bribes and government officials whose main goal in life is lining their own pockets and leaving the country to protect their own safety, not solving the many problems of Iraqi citizens.

Another actor on the show is Saad Khalifa, who also stars in "Hurry Up, He's Dead," a popular TV comedy that provides parody newscasts in an Iraqi version of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart."

In one episode of "Caricature," Hassan told his friends that "Iraqi policemen in a convoy were firing in the air in order to make their way through my neighborhood yesterday, and they used more ammunition than the Russians did to break the siege on Stalingrad in World War II."

For fan Faris Naeem, 35, Hassan's killing was heartbreaking.

"The assassination of this actor is another sign of Iraq's chaos. The criminals who are targeting actors, athletes and other public figures want to keep the blood flowing over any sign of humanity and culture," said Naeem, the owner of TV repair shop in Baghdad.