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Iraqi Governing Council member Mohsen Abdul-Hamid (C) leaves with his bodyguards and a delegation of other Sunni Muslim representatives from a meeting on Iraqi unity with Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani in the holy city of Najaf in this March 23, 2004 file photo. U.S. troops arrested Mohsen Abdul-Hamid, the leader of one of Iraq's main Sunni Arab political parties, at his house in Baghdad May 30, 2005, party officials said. The U.S. military had no immediate comment on the arrest. The party officials said it was not clear why he was arrested. REUTERS/Ali Abu Chich/Files

Insurgent thunder greets Iraq's lightning offensive

US forces arrest Iraqi Sunni leader, party says

30 May 2005 05:33:35 GMT

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, May 30 (Reuters) - U.S. troops arrested the leader of one of Iraq's main Sunni Arab political parties at his house in Baghdad on Monday, party officials said.

The U.S. military had no immediate comment on the arrest of Mohsen Abdul-Hamid, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party.

The party officials said it was not clear why he was arrested.

The party boycotted Iraq's Jan. 30 elections but was among several Sunni Arab groups that signalled this month that they were ready to take a greater role in the country's politics.

Iraq's parliament, dominated by Shi'ites and Kurds, has been trying to involve more Sunni Arabs in politics and the drafting of a new constitution, in an effort to defuse sectarian tensions and undermine the insurgency.