US and Wolf Brigade work together - mass Sunni arrests
... Sunni Arab leaders, ... on Sunday condemned a series of raids by Iraqi soldiers and police in Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of the capital, which led to the arrests of more than 360 people, including a high-ranking judge, local legislators and the mayor.
More than 600 Iraqi troops launched the campaign Saturday, the same day that two Marines died in an unrelated bombing near Fallouja, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, and a U.S. soldier died in a vehicle accident in Rawah, near the Syrian border.
A U.S. military spokesman confirmed that American troops also participated in the Baqubah raids, though as of early today he did not know how many or in what role.
Iraqi Gen. Mohammed Hassan, the commander of the operation, said the raids might continue today and that police and army troops also had been dispatched to other towns in Diyala province, including Kanaan, Buhriz and Balad Ruz, all within a few miles of Baqubah.
"We are here to save the people from the terrorists," Hassan said. In addition to those already captured, he said, "we have the names of 200 wanted."
But Diyala Deputy Gov. Awf Rahoomi complained that Iraqi troops were indiscriminately arresting prominent local officials and others for political reasons.
"These arrests are based on falsified information submitted by political rivals on the Iraqi political scene because we are approaching the next elections" in December, Rahoomi said.
Police commandos and Iraqi soldiers arrested Baqubah's mayor, Khalid Sinjuri; criminal Judge Saab Kohrshid; provincial Councilman Mohammed Kamil and several prominent members of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni organization that is planning to compete for parliament seats in next month's election, Rahoomi said. Also arrested in the raids were physicians, former Iraqi army officers and members of the Baath Party, which ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"The judge's detention was so inhuman and degrading," Rahoomi said. "He was put in a truck along with others who might have been criminals or thugs, and he was handcuffed and blindfolded."
"Such campaigns are intended to cause Iraqis to fight among themselves and at causing division in one town before the elections," said Sheik Mohammed Bashar Faidi, a representative of the Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Assn.
Local officials with the Iraqi Islamic Party, the Muslim Scholars Assn. and several tribes said they planned to hold protest demonstrations in Baqubah today, Rahoomi said. Link
db: The LA Times overlooks to mention that the US was actively supporting the notorious killers of the Wolf Brigade in this operation to terrorize Sunnis. UPI take a slightly different approach: Wolf Brigade raid angers Iraq's Sunnis
More than 600 Iraqi troops launched the campaign Saturday, the same day that two Marines died in an unrelated bombing near Fallouja, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, and a U.S. soldier died in a vehicle accident in Rawah, near the Syrian border.
A U.S. military spokesman confirmed that American troops also participated in the Baqubah raids, though as of early today he did not know how many or in what role.
Iraqi Gen. Mohammed Hassan, the commander of the operation, said the raids might continue today and that police and army troops also had been dispatched to other towns in Diyala province, including Kanaan, Buhriz and Balad Ruz, all within a few miles of Baqubah.
"We are here to save the people from the terrorists," Hassan said. In addition to those already captured, he said, "we have the names of 200 wanted."
But Diyala Deputy Gov. Awf Rahoomi complained that Iraqi troops were indiscriminately arresting prominent local officials and others for political reasons.
"These arrests are based on falsified information submitted by political rivals on the Iraqi political scene because we are approaching the next elections" in December, Rahoomi said.
Police commandos and Iraqi soldiers arrested Baqubah's mayor, Khalid Sinjuri; criminal Judge Saab Kohrshid; provincial Councilman Mohammed Kamil and several prominent members of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni organization that is planning to compete for parliament seats in next month's election, Rahoomi said. Also arrested in the raids were physicians, former Iraqi army officers and members of the Baath Party, which ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"The judge's detention was so inhuman and degrading," Rahoomi said. "He was put in a truck along with others who might have been criminals or thugs, and he was handcuffed and blindfolded."
"Such campaigns are intended to cause Iraqis to fight among themselves and at causing division in one town before the elections," said Sheik Mohammed Bashar Faidi, a representative of the Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Assn.
Local officials with the Iraqi Islamic Party, the Muslim Scholars Assn. and several tribes said they planned to hold protest demonstrations in Baqubah today, Rahoomi said. Link
db: The LA Times overlooks to mention that the US was actively supporting the notorious killers of the Wolf Brigade in this operation to terrorize Sunnis. UPI take a slightly different approach: Wolf Brigade raid angers Iraq's Sunnis
posted by exoplanet at 1:19 PM
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