US Troops Raid Central Baghdad

11/04/2005| IslamWeb

Hundreds of US and Iraqi forces have launched their biggest Baghdad raid in recent weeks, moving on foot through a central neighbourhood and rounding up dozens of people, the military said.

About 500 members of Iraq's police and army on Monday swept through buildings in the Rashid neighbourhood along with a couple of hundred American soldiers, detaining 65 people who were suspected of being anti-US fighters, Lieutenant-Colonel Clifford Kent of the US army's 3rd Infantry Division said.

One Iraqi soldier suffered injuries but no American casualties were reported in the largest joint US-Iraqi raid in Iraq's capital since 27 February, he said.

One suspected fighter was also being treated for wounds, the military said in a statement.

At least three civilians were also injured, according to Ammar Fuad, a doctor at the hospital where they were taken.

Continuing protests

Also on Monday in Baquba, 60km northeast of Baghdad, demonstrators chanted anti-American slogans, continuing three days of protests against US forces.

Tens of thousands gathered on Saturday in Baghdad to call for US-led troops to leave, and more demonstrations were held on Sunday.

An Iraqi Defence Ministry official said on Monday that security forces had arrested a person who claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of two French journalists who were abducted and later released in Iraq.

Iraqi soldiers detained Amr Husain Shaikhan in the Mahmudiya area on 4 April, the official said. No further details were available.

Journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot were released in December after four months in captivity.

Diplomat missing

In other developments, a Pakistani government official said on Monday a group claiming to have kidnapped a Pakistani diplomat in Iraq has demanded money for his release.

Malik Muhammad Javid, a deputy counsellor at the Pakistani mission in Baghdad, went missing late on Saturday after leaving home for prayers at a nearby mosque.

Pakistan, a key US ally in the "war against terror", has refused to deploy peacekeepers and has urged its citizens to avoid coming to Iraq.

Legislators pressed ahead with business as members of the 275-member National Assembly met to hear proposed rules for governing the lawmaking body.

Husain al-Sadr, a lawmaker from the coalition of outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, said the group had decided to participate in the government, adding that the participation must be a "real and effective one and not a nominal one".

He said the coalition was demanding four ministerial posts, including one of the main ministries. "If our demands are not met, then we will lead the opposition in the parliament," he said.

Ali al-Dabagh, a legislator from the Shia-led United Iraq Alliance, said he thought the demands were unrealistic.

Najaf meeting

Meanwhile, one of Iraq's two interim vice-presidents - former interim president Ghazi al-Yawir, a Sunni Arab - has met Ali al-Sistani, a leading Shia religious leader who called on voters to cast ballots on 30 January.

The previous day, the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed to have kidnapped and killed Najaf police officer Brigadier-General Basim Muhammad Kadhim al-Jazari while he was visiting Baghdad.

Iraqi Interior Ministry official Captain Ahmad Ismail said al-Jazari was kidnapped in western Baghdad late on Saturday along with his nephew, but he had no other details.

Separately, the Iraqi government announced on Sunday that security forces had arrested Ibrahim Sabawi, son of the half brother of ousted president Saddam Hussein, near Baghdad. The statement said Sabawi was close to the former government.

"Until his arrest, he had been supporting terrorists and providing them with finances," it said.

PHOTO CAPTION

US troops in armored vehicles fan out following a car bomb along the road leading to Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad 05 April 2005. (AFP)