An Iraqi official says an al-Qaida militant who carried out one of the first bombings in Iraq's sectarian fight has been executed.

An Iraqi Justice Ministry official, undersecretary Busho Ibrahim, announced Friday, that Oras Mohammed Abdul-Aziz was hanged in Baghdad Tuesday. Ibrahim says Abdul-Aziz was convicted of involvement in the car bombing of an Islamic shrine in Najaf in 2003 that killed Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim and 84 other people.

Friday's announcement is the first confirmation that a trial for the bombing had taken place. Ibrahim says Abdul-Aziz was convicted and sentenced to death last October.

Hakim, the murdered cleric, was a prominent political figure and an opponent of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.