|
US
troops arrest moderate Sunni leader, Jalal Talabani, condemned
his arrest |
| Source
: The Times UK, and AP |
|
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page |
|
US troops arrest moderate Sunni leader,
Jalal Talabani, condemned his arrest
31.5.2005
Original Headline "Sunni
leader held as bombers kill 20"
|
|
|
|
Twin
suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of
about 500 Iraqi police officers today, killing at
least 20 people, as militants escalated their fight
against government forces who have launched an
operation to quash the insurgency in Iraq’s capital.
The attacks, in the largely Shia town of Hilla,
south of Baghdad, came a day after Iraqi police
fought pitched battles with insurgents as thousands
of security forces backed by American troops began
sweeping through Baghdad’s streets in Operation
Lighting designed to catch militants responsible for
killing more than 740 people since Iraq’s new
government was announced in late April.
In a move that could further fuel a sectarian
crisis, American troops detained the head of the
Iraqi Islamic Party, Iraq’s largest Sunni Muslim
political party, during a house raid early today in
western Baghdad, a top party official and police
said. Mohsen Abdul Hamid, the head of the Iraqi
Islamic Party, was detained by American soldiers
with his three sons and four guards, said the
party's secretary-general Ayad al-Samarei. American
military officials could not immediately confirm the
detentions.
Mr al-Samarei accused American soldiers of raiding
Mr Abdul-Hamid’s home and confiscating various
items, including a computer. "This is a provocative
and foolish act and this is part of the pressure
exerted on the party," he said "At the time when the
Americans say they are keen on real Sunni
participation, they are now arresting the head of
the only Sunni party that calls for a peaceful
solution and have participated in the political
process."
Mr Abdul-Hamid, aged in his late sixties, is
regarded as a moderate Islamic leader. He was a
member of the now dissolved American-appointed Iraqi
Governing Council and has been involved with the
party since the 1970s and headed it since 2003.
Mr Abdul-Hamid’s party had in recent weeks taken
steps to become more involved in the political
process following what essentially amounted to a
boycott of political life by the group. Sunni Muslim
Arabs are thought to make up the core of a virulent
insurgency. |
|
Jalal
Talabani |
Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, condemned Mr
Abdul-Hamid’s arrest and called for him to be set
free, according to a statement released by his
office. The statement did not identify who had
detained Mr Abdul-Hamid. |
|
"Iraqi President Jalal Talabani expressed his
surprise and discontent about the arrest of the head
of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Dr. Mohsen Abdul-Hamid,
and called for his immediate release," the statement
said. "The Iraqi president said that no one gave
prior notice to the Presidential Council about the
arrest of Dr. Mohsen Abdul-Hamid. This way of
dealing with such a distinguished political figure
is unacceptable."
The arrests came on the second day of Operation
Lightning, the Iraqi-led anti-insurgent offensive in
Baghdad that Mr Abdul-Hamid’s party opposes,
believing security forces will trample over innocent
people’s rights.
Operation Lightning, which is being backed by
American forces, began on Sunday with the first of
more than 40,000 soldiers and police searching
hundreds of vehicles and raiding houses. It was
launched following a wave of attacks, mostly carried
out by suicide bombers, killed more than 740 people
since the April 28 announcement of the new
government, according to an Associated Press count.
Sunni Muslims were Iraq’s dominant community under
Saddam Hussein, but they have lost influence since
the dictator’s fall two years ago and the country’s
predominant Shia community has gained political
power.
A senior Sunni leader, whose charity this month
joined forces with the Iraqi Islamic Party and the
influential Association of Muslim Scholars to form a
major Sunni political bloc, said Mr Abdul-Hamid’s
arrest was part of a "huge campaign directed against
Sunnis."
"Such acts will hamper our efforts to convince the
Sunnis to participate in the political process,"
Adnan al-Duleimi, the head of the Sunni Endowment,
said during a news conference.
The country’s raging insurgency is believed to be
driven mainly from disaffected Iraqi Sunnis and
extremist Islamists from neighbouring, predominantly
Sunni Arab states. Tensions have been high in recent
weeks during a spate of violence, some which has
demonstrated Sunni-Shia tensions. Sunni and Shia
religious leaders have been trading accusations
against each other’s communities amid the killings
of hundreds of people, including Shia and Sunni
clerics.
The attacks in Hillah, took place at about 9:15 am
(0615BST) when two suicide bombers wearing explosive
belts blew themselves up in the middle of group of
policemen demonstrating outside the governor’s
office, staggering the blasts to maximise death.
Hillah was the site of the deadliest single attack
since the fall of Saddam Hussein, a February 28
suicide car bombing against police recruits that
killed 125 people.
In attacks that took place in Baghdad and other
parts of Iraq, insurgents killed at least 30 people
on Sunday, including a British soldier.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed
responsibility for nearly all the attacks in
internet statements that could not be independently
verified.
www.timesonline.co.uk
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
|
|
® 