Iraqi forces arrest Sunni Arab politician’s son

IRAQ: Iraqi security forces raided the office of a provincial governor and arrested the son of a leading Sunni Arab politician in separate incidents on Tuesday that could stoke sectarian and political tension.

In the early morning, an unidentified Iraqi security forces unit raided the office of the governor of Diyala province north of Baghdad, killing the governor’s secretary and provoking clashes in which four people were wounded.

Separately, the head of the country’s biggest Sunni Arab political bloc said Iraqi forces had arrested his son at their house in Baghdad and accused him of terrorism. Adnan al-Dulaimi, whose Sunni Arab Accordance Front bloc rejoined the Shi’ite-led government last month after a boycott of nearly a year, said Iraqi army troops arrested his son Muthana outside their house while U.S. forces looked on.

“I asked them why they are taking him. They said they are preparing charges of terrorism, sectarian killings and displacing people,” he told Reuters by telephone.

Another son of Dulaimi’s has been held since last year along with many of the politician’s bodyguards who were accused of links to a car bomb ring. Dulaimi has always denied the charges, which were a significant source of sectarian friction.

Baghdad, Wednesday, Reuters