BAGHDAD, Iraq - The US military said a captured al-Qaida suspect and members
of his cell were "in the final stages" of planning an attack on the Green Zone.
An unprecedented curfew prompted by the arrest left millions of Baghdadis
stranded at home on Saturday without supplies during the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan.
The US military said the suspected al-Qaida in Iraq member was arrested late
Friday at the home of senior Sunni Arab political leader Adnan al-Dulaimi, where
he was working as a personal bodyguard.
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US troops patrol a deserted Baghdad street Saturday Sept. 30,
2006 as the Iraqi government ordered a complete ban in Baghdad to
pedestrian and vehicular traffic through Sunday morning. The curfew was
put into place on the advice of U.S. forces following the arrest of a
bodyguard, detained at the home of a leading Sunni Arab politician and
suspected of being a member of al-Qaida in Iraq.
[AP]
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Al-Dulaimi is a member of the Iraqi Accordance Front - the largest Sunni
coalition in the 275-member parliament, where it holds 44 seats - and the
military was quick to distance the politician from the raid, stressing that he
was "not the target."
"This operation in no way implies Dr. al-Dulaimi was associated with any
illegal activity," the military said, adding that the suspect was captured in a
security trailer at al-Dulaimi's home.
After the arrest, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was advised by the US
military to shut down the capital and order its 7 million residents to stay at
home.
"They have information terrorists entered Baghdad," Interior Ministry
spokesman Brig. Abdul-Kaim Khalaf told The Associated Press. "The prime minister
agreed to give our security forces the freedom of movement to raid certain
places."
The curfew was rare both in its scope and severity, catching many residents
of Baghdad by surprise. Many people are fasting during the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan, eating and drinking only after sunset, and they were caught without
supplies and fresh bread — a Baghdad staple. Most residents did not have a
chance to shop on Friday because of a regular, weekly vehicle curfew to prevent
attacks against mosques during prayers.
The U.S. military said the suspected terrorist, identified as Khudhir Farhan,
and seven members of his al-Qaida cell "were in the final stages of launching a
series" of car bomb attacks "possibly involving suicide vests."
"The detained individual is suspected of involvement in the planning of a
multi-vehicle suicide operation inside Baghdad's International Zone," the
military said, referring to the heavily fortified Green Zone.
Khalaf said the "intelligence information we received was that there are car
bombs and that terrorist Takfiris wearing belts with explosives have entered
Baghdad to target civilians." Takfiri is a reference to Sunni Arab extremists.
The Green Zone, also known as the International Zone, is located in downtown
Baghdad and is surrounded by layers of concrete blast walls and guarded by
Coalition forces and the Iraqi army. The Iraqi government lives and works there,
the parliament is housed there and it is also home to the U.S. embassy.
As a bodyguard for al-Dulaimi, Farhan could have had access to the
parliament, often attended by the prime minister and his staff, and possibly to
offices used by Cabinet members. It is doubtful he could ever have reached the
heavily guarded U.S. embassy compound inside the Green Zone.
Farhan also was suspected of having links to a car bomb network operating in
the southern area of Baghdad, the military said.
Immediately after his arrest Friday afternoon, al-Dulaimi denied the
bodyguard had any terrorist links, but when contacted by the AP on Saturday he
acknowledged he could have been mistaken.
"That individual joined my residence as a guard no more than a month ago,
therefore I haven't got complete data about his background," al-Dulaimi said.
"Anyhow, they are only suspicions about his involvement, which have not been
proved."
The U.S. command said al-Dulaimi "did meet the force and offered his home to
be searched, which was declined as the operation had no association with him.
They only searched the security trailer and the suspect's vehicle."
There have been fears that insurgents would try to stage a spectacular attack
during Ramadan following a series of calls from al-Qaida in Iraq's new leader.
Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has ordered
intensified attacks against Americans and the country's Shiite majority, which
dominates the government and parliament.
Al-Muhajer - who is believed to have succeeded slain al-Qaida in Iraq
leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - began issuing the calls - including
orders to kidnap Westerners - on Sept. 7.
He has followed al-Zarqawi's belief that starting a sectarian war between the
Shiites and Sunni Arabs is the best way to defeat the United States in Iraq.
Following his calls, attacks intensified against both Shiites and the
Coalition, and a senior US military official said the first week of Ramadan was
the worst for suicide bombings since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Sectarian violence has surged in recent months and has brought the country to
the brink of civil war.
Although Baghdad was quiet Saturday, police said violence persisted in other
areas of the country.
Gunmen killed Malik Jebbar, an Iraqi man who had been working as an
interpreter for the US military, in an area about 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Another person was killed and five others were wounded in nearby Iskandariyah
when a bomb exploded in the city center.
In Tal Afar, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, police opened fire on a
suspected car bomber. The vehicle detonated, killing two and wounding 30 others,
police Lt. Nejim Abdullah said.
Baghdad police on Saturday found six corpses in the eastern section of the
capital, more apparent victims of the sectarian death squads that roam the city.
Two other bodies were turned in to the morgue in Kut, 100 miles southeast of
Baghdad.
North of Kut, a policeman was shot and killed by unknown assailants outside
his home, police said.
