Region | Iraq
Home of pro-US group leader raided by Iraqi forces
Iraqi security forces raided the home of a provincial leader of US-backed patrols on Tuesday, an incident that could raise tension at a time when the Baghdad government is taking over the programme from the US military.
- Agencies
- Published: 13:57 October 21, 2008
vBaghdad: Iraqi security forces raided the home of a provincial leader of US-backed patrols on Tuesday, an incident that could raise tension at a time when the Baghdad government is taking over the programme from the US military.
Mullah Shihab Al Safi, leader of the "Awakening" movement for the volatile Diyala province north of Baghdad, told reporters that troops had raided his house before dawn, arresting his brother and father, in Buhriz, south of the provincial capital Baquba.
Safi said by telephone he was not at home at the time and was now moving from place to place to avoid capture.
The Awakening groups are made up mostly of Sunni Arabs and include many former insurgents who battled US forces and the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad but since have been recruited and paid by the US military to run neighbourhood patrols.
The Iraqi government has been taking over the programme from the US military, beginning this month in Baghdad and spreading to other provinces in coming months.
Officials say they will incorporate 20 percent of the patrol members into the army and police while finding civilian jobs or training for the rest.
But many Awakening leaders say they fear mass arrests from a government that remains hostile to them.
"They have been arresting the leaders for a while. The government are going back on their promises," Safi said.
Share this article
Popular in News
News Editor's choice
-
Shilpa Shetty ties knot with Kundra
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty tied the knot with London-based businessman Raj Kundra
-
A weighty issue for Gulf News readers
Should we encourage pupils to slim down? Gulf News readers speak out
-
Work on world's longest sea crossing to begin in 2010
The proposed Qatar-Bahrain causeway project, tipped to be the world's longest sea crossing, is estimated at a cost of at $2.7 billion (Dh9.9 billion)
