LOC14:04
11:04 GMT
BAGHDAD, July 22 (KUNA) -- US Army troops with the cooperation of the Iraqi
Army detained a local official linked to the new Baathist party.
The US army said in a statement that its joint forces detained a former
mayor and current city council member in Al-Sadiyah town, in Diyala province.
Reliable sources said the US forces raided a house in Al-Sadiyah and
detained the unidentified official.
Intelligence reports said the detainee is affiliated to Al-Qaeda cell in
Iraq and linked to the new Baath Party and involved in plotting a series of
kidnappings, murders, and blackmailing in Diyala Province. He is said to have
tried to put pressure on tribal chiefs in Iraq, the statement added.
The suspect is involved in setting up an attack using a booby-trapped car
in the Zargoush district in the town of Al-Sadiyah which killed more than 19
people. He also publicly challenged Iraqi government statements and its true
intentions behind security operations.(end)
ahh.sab
KUNA 221404 Jul 07NNNN