KERBALA - US and Iraqi forces detained a senior Shia official after raiding his home in the holy southern city of Kerbala early on Thursday, Iraqi officials said. The US military said it could not confirm the reported arrest of Akeel Al Zubaidi, head of the provincial council in Kerbala, 110 km (68 miles) south of Baghdad. Akeel Al KhazaÂ’li, governor of the province of Kerbala, told Reuters the raid took place at about 1 a.m. (2100 GMT) and said US and Iraqi forces had carried out the operation.
Zubaidi belongs to the Shia Fadhila party, a member of Prime Minister Nuri Al MalikiÂ’s ruling Shia Alliance coalition. KhazaÂ’li said a security plan was in place in Kerbala to prevent possible violence following the raid.
A spokesman for Fadhila said the arrest was “illegal” and demanded an investigation. “The house of the Sheikh Akeel Al Zubaidi was brutally raided by the U.S and Iraqi forces,” Hassan Al Shemari told a news conference in Baghdad.
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