Iraqi Forces Raid Mosque
The raid took place last night at the Al-Rasoul mosque in the teeming Shiite quarter, where US troops battled followers of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr last year until a peace agreement was struck.
Police said the raid was conducted by US troops and Iraqi National Guards and occurred shortly before sunset. Officials gave no reason for the raid and it was unclear how many worshippers remain in custody.
An al-Sadr aide, Abdul-Hadi al-Daraji, denounced the raid as a “criminal act” and demanded that all the detainees be freed.
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http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4048780
Shaikh Abd al-Hadi al-Darraji, a top aide of the Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, told Aljazeera.net that what happened in Masjid al-Rasul (The Prophet Mosque) reveals the real intentions of the US occupation forces.
He accused a US soldier of urinating on the Holy Quran and another of consuming alcohol within the chambers of the mosque.
"[This] is a great sin in Islam" al-Darraji said.
"The action of the US forces just days before Sunday's election is a serious provocation and it reveals that the US is serious in insulting the Islamic values and impose its culture on us" he said.
"They claim they are democratic people, but they are targeting us because we boycotted the elections and said it should not be held under occupation."
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Another official in al-Sadr's movement, Naim al-Qaabi, too accused US and Iraqi forces of tearing Qurans during the operation and arresting 21 Sadr supporters.
However, neither claims could be immediately verified and the interim Iraqi government has issued a statement saying it was investigating the incident.
The US military has not yet commented on the incident.
Moqtada al-Sadr led a fierce anti-US uprising before toeing the pro-election line, then changed his position later and vowed to boycott the elections as long as foreign troops remain on Iraqi soil.
Earlier this month, thousands of al-Sadr supporters demonstrated in several cities to protest against petrol and electricity shortages, accusing the interim government of ignoring the people in favour of Sunday's elections.
Al-Sadr is an Iraqi Arab Shia Muslim family notable for delivering religious leaders such as Muhamad Baqir and Muhamad Sadiq.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1E8DFB80-D120-4C6A-B2FC-17226C44EDD9.htm
Ik vraag me af welk nut dit heeft, zo vlak voor de verkiezingen.
Probeert Allawi zoveel mogelijk mensen niet te laten stemmen, zodat hij nog een kans heeft?