Diyala, which has a Shiite governor despite a Sunni Arab plurality, has proven among the most difficult of Iraq's 18 provinces to pacify. It is also a base for al-Qaida in Iraq, the deadliest of the country's terror networks. The new arrests could deepen Sunni resentment in Diyala and hamper U.S. efforts to co-opt former Sunni fighters who last year revolted against al-Qaida.
Before dawn, troops swept through the provincial council complex in downtown Baqouba, north of Baghdad, then advanced to the nearby office of the provincial governor, Raad Rashid al-Tamimi, officials said. Government troops kicked in doors and exchanged fire with the governor's guards. The governor's secretary, Abbas al-Tamimi, was killed and four guards were injured in the raid, police said.
Later Tuesday, the governor, surrounded by local security forces, silently led a funeral procession, walking behind the flower-draped coffin of his secretary.
The head of the provincial council's security committee, Hussein al-Zubaidi, a fellow Sunni, was also arrested, police said.
The Sunni president of Diyala University, Nazar al-Khafaji, was taken from his home handcuffed, his head covered by a hood, according to his nephew. Troops also seized three computers and several books, said the nephew, Ismail Ibrahim Sabi, who was in his uncle's house at the time and works for him as a driver.A senior Iraqi army official said there were complaints that both al-Khafaji and al-Zubaidi were involved in killings and that they would be brought before a judge. The official said al-Khafaji is a suspect in the killing of several professors at the university, but did not provide any evidence to back up his claims.
The 41-member provincial council demanded an investigation into the raids and said it was suspending its activities in the meantime. Council chief Ibrahim Bajilan said officials had cooperated with the Iraqi security forces and were angered when al-Zubaidi was arrested. "It was a barbaric act despite all the facilities we offered to this force, which didn't respect the law," Bajilan said in a telephone interview.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni faction, said in a statement that the raids were a sign that "sectarianism remains the sole motive of the security forces."
U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a military operation in the province last month, hoping to replicate successes against Shiite and Sunni militants in Baghdad, the southern city of Basra and the northern city of Mosul. Police said Iraqi forces were backed by U.S. helicopters during the raid on the governor's office. The U.S. military said attack aircraft were in the area but not involved in the operation.
The governor, a Shiite, was not in his office at the time. Despite not being a majority in the province, Shiites dominate elected offices because Sunnis boycotted the 2005 provincial elections. U.S. and Iraqi officials are hoping upcoming provincial elections will more equitably redistribute power.
Last week, suicide bombers struck twice in Baqouba, killing three people. One of the attacks narrowly missed the convoy of the governor, al-Tamimi.
Meanwhile in the southern Iraqi city of Amarah, a rocket attack killed a U.S. soldier Tuesday, the military said. The death brings to 4,144 the number of American military personnel who have died in the Iraq war, according to an AP count.