Two senior members of an influential Islamic authority in Iraq, the Association of Muslim Scholars, have been assassinated. In the first incident, the body of Shaikh Hazim al-Zaidi was found in front of al-Sajjad mosque in Sadr City, a mainly Shia area in eastern Baghdad on Monday, an AMS spokesman told Aljazeera. There are reports he was abducted late on Sunday along with two others outside the mosque. Other reports indicate that he was killed after leaving the mosque. The shaikh was in charge of coordination among Muslim clerics within the AMS and other religious movements in Iraq. In the second incident, later on Monday, Shaikh Muhammad Jadwa was killed by armed men when he left al-Kauthar mosque in the Baya area, west of Baghdad. The attack occurred just after noon prayers. The attackers fled, Aljazeera has learnt. "We hope it is not an organised campaign to assassinate the Association's clerics," a source in the group said. Some Sunni and Shia groups have said they fear their members are being targeted by assassins, perhaps in an attempt to spark sectarian conflict in Iraq. The AMS is a conservative group that has worked for the release of foreign hostages. It strongly opposes the US presence in Iraq - a position that has made it possible to act as an intermediary in hostage negotiations. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Local residents stand near a truck after an improvised explosive device went off under it, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday Sept. 19, 2004. (AP)