Kubeisi
said the troops banned Friday prayers in some mosques, warning
citizens from loudspeakers on US military vehicles.
He
added that the troops imposed curfews, raided houses and mosques,
arrested imams and seized civilian cars.
Kubeisi
cited the raid on Al-Mostafa and Al-Arqam Ibn Abi Al-Arqam mosques and
the detention of their imams.
“The
troops further arrested AMS member Abdel Sattar Al-Eidid and Sheikh
Ibrahim Shehab, the imam of Al-Rawda Al-Muhammadiya,” he added.
The
leading Muslim scholar said the troops arrested 352 Iraqis in Abu
Ghraib district only, including 100 pick-up drivers in addition to up
to 278 others in Al-Ujeil and Al-Dura districts.
The
ongoing Operation Lightning coincides with a major US-backed Iraqi
swoop on the northwest town of Tal Afar.
Soldiers
from Iraq's 1st Brigade, 3rd Army Division and the US 2nd Squadron,
3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment pressed on with their offensive, which
picked up steam at dawn Tuesday, arresting so far up to 73 people.
Tal
Afar was the scene of deadly US raids in September of last year that
left dozens dead and displaced hundreds others.
Extended
Occupation
The
Sunni scholar renewed accusations that Iraqi security forces were
deliberately targeting “Sunni Arabs and all those who oppose the
occupation.”
He,
however, made a distinction between “Shiite brothers” who lived in
Iraq all their lives and those who came from abroad after Saddam
Hussein's fall.
Kubeisi
charged that the latter wanted “to create a culture of hate in
Iraq.”
He
urged the Shiites to withdraw their backing of the government “which
has not met any of their expectations.”
Islamic
Party’s senior leader Iyad Al-Ezzawi has dubbed the security
crackdown as a “sectarian war launched by the new state on the Sunni
Arabs.”
The
AMS further condemned on Tuesday the Iraqi government’s call on the
UN Security Council to extend the presence of occupation troops in the
Arab country.
It
said in a statement that the call would turn the “forced
occupation” into an “occupation urged”.
“The
root cause of the Iraqi crisis lies in the presence of US-led
occupation troops,” said the influential group.
“Neither
this government nor others would be able to bring about security to
Iraq as long as the occupation endures.”
Iraqi
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari urged the UN Security Council earlier
in the week to issue a resolution extending the mandate of the US-led
occupation troops.
The
council responded positively, issuing a statement Tuesday extending
the mandate and saying it looks forward to Iraqi security forces
playing a greater role and ultimately assuming responsibility for the
country's national security.
Badr
Role
Meanwhile,
the head of the Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in
Iraq (SCIRIR), Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, has called for a greater role in
security operations for the controversial Badr Brigades.
“In
gratitude to the efforts, sacrifices and heroic positions of our
brothers and brave sons from the Badr Organization ... we must give
them the priority in bearing administrative and government
responsibilities especially in the security field,” he told a
conference honoring Badr in Baghdad Wednesday, June 8.
Badr
was formed by former SCIRI boss and Hakim's brother Mohammed Baqer
Al-Hakim in the 1980s to fight Saddam regime.
Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani echoed a similar position on Badr.
