A senior cleric of an influential Iraqi Sunni religious association was kidnapped and killed in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, a member of the association said Monday.

Hazem al-Zaidi, a cleric belonging to the Association of Muslim Scholars, was killed Monday morning, Hasen Jamal, information officer of the association told Xinhua.

The religious association which has a strong say among the Sunni population in Iraq was thought to have a subtle tie with the Shiites, who used to fight the US forces to show solidarity with the Sunnis when Fallujah was besieged in April.