US troops arrest top Shi'ite

2007-02-23 20:28

Baghdad - US troops arrested the son of Iraq's top Shi'ite politician Friday as he returned to the country from Iran, Shi'te officials said.

Amar al-Hakim, son of political leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, was taken into custody at the Zirbatyah crossing point and was transferred to a US facility in Kut, according to the elder al-Hakim's secretary, Jamal al-Sagheer.

Al-Sagheer said the younger al-Hakim's security guards were also detained.

US Lieutenant-colonel Christopher Garver said he was looking into the report and "will release information as it becomes available".

Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim is leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the country's largest Shi'ite party with long-time ties to Iran.

Al-Hakim's party is part of the Shi'ite alliance that includes Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The elder al-Hakim has close ties to both Iran and the US, and met with President George W Bush at the White House in December.

'Close ties with Iran'

US authorities have complained about Iranian weapons sales and financial aid to major Shi'ite parties in Iraq, especially the Mahdi Army of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

But mainstream Shi'ite parties also have close ties to Iran, including political groups that have worked with the United States in trying to promote democracy in Baghdad.

Amar al-Hakim heads a charity organisation dedicated to the memory of his uncle, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, who was killed along with many others in a massive car bombing in Najaf in August 2003.

Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim took over SCIRI after his older brother died.

A Shi'ite lawmaker close to al-Hakim, Hameed Moalah, said Amar al-Hakim was detained at 09:00 on the Iranian border.

He added: "We have made urgent contacts with the offices of the president and the prime minister as well as the Americans.

"The Americans told us the detention was a mistake that will be rectified, but nothing happened until now."

- AP