Iraqi military: US troops not alone during disputed Mosul arrests

Sep 27, 2010, 16:10 GMT

Mosul, Iraq - An Iraqi military source said Monday that a controversial raid in the northern city of Mosul last week involved both local and United States soldiers, dismissing allegations that US forces had unilaterally carried out the operation.

'Iraqi military forces from the Third Division accompanied the United States forces during the arrest raid,' the source told the German Press Agency dpa, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Nine people were detained during the operation. They were released Monday, the source said.

The governor of Iraq's Nineveh province, Ethel Nujaifi, and the head of Mosul's Security and Defence Committee, Abdul-Rahim al- Shammari, had previously said that the sweep was carried out by US troops alone and thus violated the agreement governing the US withdrawal from Iraq.

The agreement stipulates that US troops can not detain or arrest any Iraqi unless it is done in agreement with the government, and must turn over those arrested to local authorities within 24 hours.

Nujaifi also argued that the raid was politically motivated because it targeted tribesmen, imams and other figures opposed to the Iraqi general census, which maps out the country's ethnic makeup.

The US military press office in Iraq had previously said that it had 'no reports' of US forces being involved in the raid and that its troops 'do not participate in unilateral operations.'

The Iraqi government in Baghdad has not commented on the raid.