BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops detained a bodyguard for the leader of Iraq’s biggest Sunni Arab political group on suspicion the guard was preparing suicide bombings, and fearful officials on Saturday enforced a total ban on movement in this city of about 7 million people.
The U.S. command said the man was believed to be a member of al-Qaida in Iraq and was preparing a series of suicide attacks inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi government, parliament and the U.S. and other western embassies.
Khudhir Farhan was taken into custody Friday at the home of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the largest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament, al-Dulaimi said.
“Credible intelligence indicates the individual, a member of Dr. Dulaimi’s personal security detachment, and seven members of the detained individual’s cell were in the final stages of launching a series of (bomb) attacks inside the International Zone, possibly involving suicide vests,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
He is suspected of having links to a car bomb network operating in the southern area of Baghdad, the military said.
Immediately after the arrest Friday afternoon, al-Dulaimi denied that the guard had terrorist links. But when contacted Saturday he said: “That individual joined my residence as a guard no more than a month ago, therefore I haven’t got complete data about his background.”
The U.S. military said al-Dulaimi cooperated with soldiers when they showed up to apprehend the guard.
Following the Friday raid on al-Dulaimi’s house, the Iraqi government ordered a complete lockdown inside Baghdad – banning all pedestrian and vehicular traffic until this morning. Such bans have been imposed in the past following fears that car or suicide bombs were planned.
The curfew was put into place on the advice of U.S. forces, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Abdul-Kaim Khalaf said.
“They have information terrorists entered Baghdad,” Khalaf said. “The prime minister agreed to (the curfew) to give our security forces the freedom of movement to raid certain places.”
Though the capital was quiet because of the curfew, six people were killed in scattered violence around the country, including an Iraqi working as an interpreter for the U.S. military in an area about 60 miles south of Baghdad, authorities said.
In addition, Baghdad police found 10 bodies in Baghdad, apparently victims of sectarian death squads. Two other bodies were turned in to the morgue in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad.
The U.S. military has forecast a surge in violence during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began about a week ago. A senior U.S. military official said the first week of Ramadan was the worst for suicide bombings since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
On Saturday, U.S. Embassy in Baghdad spokesman Lou Fintor declined to comment on reports that American officials have warned Iraqi leaders that they might have to curtail aid to the Shiite-controlled Interior Ministry because of human rights violations.
According to The New York Times, the focus centers on allegations of abuse and torture at an Interior Ministry prison in Baghdad known as Site 4.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
