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Iraq's biggest Sunni party suspends ties with US
Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political party suspended all dealings with U.S. civilian and military personnel on Saturday after U.S. and Iraqi forces carried out a raid in which a man was killed. The incident could increase tension in a part of Iraq that was once the heartland of the insurgency against U.S. forces but has become among the quietest parts of the country over the past two years.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, headed by Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, said the targets of the raid were senior party officials. Five people had been detained and one killed "in his bed", it said in a statement. The statement said the raid had "hidden political goals" after the party forged tribal alliances with other political blocs. On Saturday, the supporters of the party protested in Fallujah and demanded the release of the five arrested members, an AFP correspondent reported. Falluja, in Anbar province west of the capital, was the scene of the war's two heaviest battles between U.S. forces and Sunni insurgents in 2004, but has become quiet after tribes began cooperating with American troops in late 2006. The Islamic Party said it would suspend all communication with U.S. personnel until it got "a convincing explanation of what happened, accompanied by an official apology stressing that those who committed these attacks are turned over to justice". The move is an indication of rising political tensions in Anbar province ahead of provincial elections, due to be held by the end of January. Posted by: Fred 2008-10-27 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=253687 |