In the Amir neighbourhood of Najaf, Shakir Qassim, 25, is not a happy man. The holy city of Najaf has seen sustained fighting for nearly three weeks and yet the pre-eminent leader of Iraq's majority Shia community has sought refuge thousands of miles from his people. It was only on Wednesday that he returned to Iraq from London.

“Sistani escaped from Najaf. There are more hospitals in Baghdad to treat the same disease but he escaped to save himself,” Mr Qassim says.