U.S. Raid's 'Mistake' Iraqi Grab
They came during the gloom just before dawn Monday, expertly blowing in the doors of a western Baghdad house and dragging out seven men inside "like sheep."
But the raid by American soldiers in a part of the violence-wracked capital that has seen fierce battles in recent days was a serious misstep, and instead of claiming a prize catch, it almost set off a sectarian crisis in a country already on the edge of civil strife.
"They blew up our doors and dragged us out of the house like sheep," complained an angry Mohsen Abdul-Hamid, head of Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political party and short-time president of the now-dissolved U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council.
The U.S. military acknowledged it had made a "mistake" by detaining Abdul-Hamid.
CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier
that Abdul-Hamid, the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, was one of the few major Sunni politicians that's been urging dialogue instead of war.The Iraqi prime minister is among those calling for an investigation, Dozier reports.
"I cannot understand how would it be a mistake," Abudl-Hamid told multiple TV stations.
The arrest of Abdul-Hamid, leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, his three sons and four guards did little to help efforts to entice Iraq's once-dominant Sunni community back into the political fold after losing the dominance it wielded before Saddam Hussein's ouster.
Many believe the Sunni fall from power and parallel rise of Iraq's majority Shiite population are spurring the insurgency, driving many disenchanted Sunnis to launch attacks that have killed more than 760 people since the April 28 announcement of the new Shiite-dominated government.
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in Adhaim, a village 31 miles north of Baqouba, according to Baqouba council official Faris Ekab.
In a commitment to end the violence, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari vowed that "Operation Lightning," the large-scale campaign that began Sunday, would rid Baghdad of militants and, in particular, suicide car bombers, the deadliest and regular weapon of choice for insurgents.
"We needed to clean up some of our problem districts and that's why Operation Lightning was launched ... to quickly come to the protection of civilians and stop the bloodshed," al-Jaafari said at a news conference.
But renewed carnage south of the capital showed the difficulty of his job.
In an apparent claim of responsibility for the dual suicide attack south of Baghdad, al Qaeda in Iraq said in an Internet statement that one of its members carried out an attack "against a group of special Iraqi forces." The statement's authenticity could not be verified.
"I just saw a ball of fire and flying pieces of flesh. After that, confused policemen started firing into the air," he said.
Militants regard Iraqi security forces as prime targets in their campaign against the U.S. military, which hinges its eventual exit from Iraq on the ability of local soldiers and police to handle the insurgency.
U.S. forces have launched several offensives in western Iraq aimed at rooting out Sunni extremists crisscrossing the desert frontier with Syria to smuggle in foreign fighters and weapons.
Fears of sectarian violence have whipped across Iraq amid the latest violence, which has seen Shiite and Sunni clerics kidnapped, tortured and shot.
In recent weeks, Shiite and Sunni leaders have met to try to settle their differences, with both camps declaring their intent to work to end the violence.
But Monday's roughly 12-hour detention of Abdul-Hamid flared tensions yet again, causing Sunni leaders to condemn his arrest and accuse American authorities of trying to alienate their community.
Few details were available on why the Americans arrested the Sunni leader, but it appeared to be related to the ongoing Sunni-led insurgency and fears of a broader sectarian conflict starting up.
"Following the interview, it was determined that he was detained by mistake and should be released," the military said. "Coalition forces regret any inconvenience and acknowledge (Abdul-Hamid's) cooperation in resolving this matter."
Iraqi authorities suggested someone had planted "lies" against him in a bid to stir up "sectarian sedition."
Abdul-Hamid himself said U.S. forces questioned him about the "current situation," an apparent reference to the wave of attacks.
Following his release, Abdul-Hamid told reporters how "U.S. special forces" blew open the doors to his home "and dragged (his sons and guards) outside like sheep."
"They forced me to lay on the ground along with my sons and guards and one of the soldiers put his foot on my neck for 20 minutes," he told Al-Jazeera TV.
Soldiers later put him into a helicopter and flew him to an unknown location for more questioning, he said. He said he did not know the whereabouts of his sons and guards.
"At the time when the Americans say they are keen on real Sunni participation, they are now arresting the head of the only Sunni party that calls for a peaceful solution and have participated in the political process," said Iraqi Islamic Party Secretary-General Ayad al-Samarei.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, expressed "surprise and discontent" over the arrest.
"This way of dealing with such a distinguished political figure is unacceptable," he said.
The country's largest Shiite political party, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, condemned the arrest and demanded U.S. forces "be more accurate and not take action against political figures without legal justification."
The influential Association of Muslim Scholars and Sunni Endowment charity group, which have merged with Abdul-Hamid's party to form a powerful bloc to protect Sunni political interests, also condemned the arrests.
Abdul-Hamid's party had in recent weeks taken steps to become more involved in the political process after boycotting the Jan. 30 parliamentary elections, which were dominated by parties drawn from Iraq's majority Shiite population.