U.S. forces have released a senior aide to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Maliki's office said on Wednesday. Ahmed Shibani, who had been held for more than two years, is a senior aide to Sadr, a radical anti-American cleric who is also the leader of the Mehdi Army militia which Washington recently called the greatest threat to security in Iraq.
Shibani's release is likely to boost the standing of Maliki, a Shi'ite Islamist who relies on Sadr for political support. The Sadrist movement holds a quarter of parliamentary seats in the ruling Shi'ite Alliance. Sadr's political movement is an important part of the coalition government and holds several ministries."(Shibani) has been released this afternoon on the orders of Prime Minister Maliki," an official in the prime minister's office told Reuters.
Nassar al-Rubaei, head of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, said U.S. forces had been detaining Shibani without charge. "We know that today he will be released by the occupation forces and delivered to the prime minister today to be freed," he said. Another Sadr Movement official said Shibani was at the prime minister's headquarters in Baghdad. "This is a great victory for us," said Abdul Mahdi al-Matiri, a senior member in Sadr's political council. "We cannot deny that this happened with major efforts from the prime minister."
Shibani was arrested in Najaf with another 17 Sadr followers on accusations of carrying heavy weapons and was believed to be held at a U.S. base at the airport in Baghdad. Last year, an Iraqi court found no evidence against Shibani and his colleagues but U.S. forces kept him in detention. The U.S. military confirmed Shibani's release.
"Tonight, coalition forces released into the custody of the Prime Minster of Iraq Sheik Ahmed Abady al-Shibani who was detained two and a half years ago in Najaf," the military said in a statement. "In consultation with the prime minister, and following his request, coalition leaders determined that Sheik Shibani, who was detained since 2004, could play a potentially important role in helping to moderate extremism and foster reconciliation in Iraq."Shi'ite officials said Maliki and the Sadrists had a tense relationship in the past few months, particularly since the launch of a major security crackdown in which Maliki pledged to tackle both Shi'ite and Sunni militants. "The relationship was tense for some time, the Sadrists saw the Baghdad plan as against them. The release will put it back on track," a senior Shi'ite Alliance official told Reuters. "Maliki will be their favourite again."U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed or arrested hundreds of Sadr's followers since the crackdown started. In January, the U.S. military arrested Sadr's spokesman in Baghdad, Sheikh Abdul Hadi al- Darraji. U.S. and Iraqi forces recently extended the security crackdown into Sadr City, a stronghold of Sadr's Mehdi Army, but have met little resistance and U.S. commanders say senior militants appear to have left the capital. However, there has been concern over whether the Mehdi Army and Sadr himself, who Washington says is in Iran, have embraced the plan or are merely lying low until it is over. |