Iraq MP Busted At Al Qaeda Meeting
BAGHDAD, (Reuters) - A member of Iraq’s parliament is in U.S. custody and being questioned after an Iraqi special forces raid on a suspected al Qaeda meeting, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
A spokesman for the Iraqi parliament said the lawmaker was from the assembly’s main Sunni Arab bloc. The man was held after a raid in the Sunni Arab town of Sharqat, 260 km (160 miles) northwest of Baghdad, in volatile Salahuddin province on Sept. 29, the U.S. military said in an email in response to queries from Reuters. “The man being held is one of the 275 members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives,” the military said. “Officially, he is not considered a ‘detainee’ at this time. He is being held for questioning after being found at a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq meeting during a combined Iraqi Security Forces/Coalition operation,” it said.
The military said it would not release the man’s name. It is believed to be the first time a member of Iraq’s parliament has been detained by Iraqi or U.S. forces.
The Iraqi parliament spokesman said Accordance Front member Naif Mohammed Jasim had been taken into custody while he was attending a funeral in Sharqat on Wednesday.
The Accordance front, parliament’s main Sunni Arab bloc, pulled out of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s fractured Shi’ite-led coalition government last month, protesting at what it said was his failure to address their demands for a greater say in government.
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
If you can't handle using your real email address, don't bother posting a comment.
Like nobody saw that coming, it should not be a surprise to anyone.
October 5th, 2007 at 3:41 am[…] Iraq MP Busted At Al Qaeda Meeting — Pat Dollard […]
October 5th, 2007 at 4:28 amWow; shocking. Next thing you know, they’ll get caught taking bribes, too.
Or perhaps just meeting with Iranian and Syrian leaders…
October 5th, 2007 at 8:09 amCan we get the rest of them now?
October 5th, 2007 at 8:30 amIs it me, or does that picture remind anyone else of the disney movie ‘Aladin.’ weird.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:43 amOnly one Minister? We have a whole Party over here on the side of al qaeda.
October 5th, 2007 at 9:24 amIt’s like catching Nancy Pelosi wearing a scarf meeting with Asad, or Billary going to Daily Kos meeting, or kissing Yassir Arafat’s wife when Bill was Pres…oh, wait, that did happen…
October 5th, 2007 at 9:54 amMore of that ghetto logic gone bad. Nice job Iraqis.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:16 amGet a rope.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:32 amanyone check out the advert to the right: MUslim Bridges “islam beautiful and peaceful religion”
October 7th, 2007 at 10:48 pm