The spiritual leader of Iraq's Shi'ites, Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, escaped an assassination bid yesterday, his office said, on the eve of a visit by a UN team assessing his demand for direct elections. Television reports said that gunmen sprayed Sistani's car with bullets as the cleric was leaving his office for his home in the pilgrimage city of Najaf, 160km south of Baghdad. Sistani's office later confirmed an attack had taken place but offered no further details. Muwaffaq Al Rubaie, a leading Shi'ite member of the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council, who met with Sistani, said the cleric was well following the attack. **PHOTO CAPTION*** The spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiites Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, pictured. (AFP/Ho/File)