BAGHDAD (AFP) -- Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered a probe into the slaying of the high-profile Sunni sheikh who fought Al-Qaeda in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a statement said Friday.

Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Reesha was killed in a roadside bomb attack near his home outside Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, on Thursday, one day less than a year after he launched the Anbar Awakening Conference.
The Conference brought together 42 Sunni tribes from Anbar to fight Al-Qaeda alongside U.S. forces in the province.
""We have set up an investigative committee to probe the circumstances of this incident and we are sure that perpetrators of this crime will be arrested and sent to justice,"" Maliki said in a statement.
He said the crime was clearly an act of Al-Qaeda and ""aimed at destabilizing the province of Anbar.""
-----------Significant role
""The martyr (Abu Reesha) played a significant role in fighting takfiris (Sunni extremists) who tried to kidnap Anbar Province and establish a backward dark entity in Mesopotamia,"" the premier said.
""At the same time we call upon all the honest tribal sons and all sincere men not to give strangers the chance to raise sectarianism in beloved Anbar.""
Maliki, a Shiite, said Abu Reesha would ""remain in the memory of Iraqis and our security services in their heroic confrontation against terrorists to expel them from Anbar.""
President Jalal Talabani also called upon the people to fight like Abu Reesha.
""The exploits of Sheikh Abu Reesha urge us to line up and to work hand in hand against the forces of ignorance and terrorism,"" Talabani said in a statement.
""The best revenge for heroes such as Abu Reesha is to continue working"" in a spirited way, the statement said.
Abu Reesha was killed along with his three bodyguards when his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb outside Ramadi