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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061001/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Baghdad shut down on suspicion of attack

By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 29 minutes ago

The U.S. military said a captured al-Qaida suspect and members of his cell were "in the final stages" of planning an attack on the Green Zone. An unprecedented curfew prompted by the arrest left millions of Baghdadis stranded at home on Saturday without supplies during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The U.S. military said the suspected al-Qaida in Iraq member was arrested late Friday at the home of senior Sunni Arab political leader Adnan al-Dulaimi, where he was working as a personal bodyguard.

Al-Dulaimi is a member of the Iraqi Accordance Front — the largest Sunni coalition in the 275-member parliament, where it holds 44 seats — and the military was quick to distance the politician from the raid, stressing that he was "not the target."

"This operation in no way implies Dr. al-Dulaimi was associated with any illegal activity," the military said, adding that the suspect was captured in a security trailer at al-Dulaimi's home.

After the arrest, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was advised by the U.S. military to shut down the capital and order its 7 million residents to stay at home.

"They have information terrorists entered Baghdad," Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Abdul-Kaim Khalaf told The Associated Press. "The prime minister agreed to give our security forces the freedom of movement to raid certain places."

The curfew was rare both in its scope and severity, catching many residents of Baghdad by surprise. Many people are fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, eating and drinking only after sunset, and they were caught without supplies and fresh bread — a Baghdad staple. Most residents did not have a chance to shop on Friday because of a regular, weekly vehicle curfew to prevent attacks against mosques during prayers.

The U.S. military said the suspected terrorist, identified as Khudhir Farhan, and seven members of his al-Qaida cell "were in the final stages of launching a series" of car bomb attacks "possibly involving suicide vests."

"The detained individual is suspected of involvement in the planning of a multi-vehicle suicide operation inside Baghdad's International Zone," the military said, referring to the heavily fortified Green Zone.

Khalaf said the "intelligence information we received was that there are car bombs and that terrorist Takfiris wearing belts with explosives have entered Baghdad to target civilians." Takfiri is a reference to Sunni Arab extremists.

The Green Zone, also known as the International Zone, is located in downtown Baghdad and is surrounded by layers of concrete blast walls and guarded by Coalition forces and the Iraqi army. The Iraqi government lives and works there, the parliament is housed there and it is also home to the U.S. embassy.

As a bodyguard for al-Dulaimi, Farhan could have had access to the parliament, often attended by the prime minister and his staff, and possibly to offices used by Cabinet members. It is doubtful he could ever have reached the heavily guarded U.S. embassy compound inside the Green Zone.

Farhan also was suspected of having links to a car bomb network operating in the southern area of Baghdad, the military said.

Immediately after his arrest Friday afternoon, al-Dulaimi denied the bodyguard had any terrorist links, but when contacted by the AP on Saturday he acknowledged he could have been mistaken.

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