Iraqi Interior Ministry demands Kurds hand over vice president

Jan 9, 2012, 12:13 GMT

Baghdad - Iraq's Interior Ministry on Monday confirmed it has ordered the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region to hand over Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who faces charges of terrorism.

The ministry, which is effectively run by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, issued an arrest warrant against the vice president and several of his security guards last month.

Al-Hashemi is accused of being behind a November blast, which al-Maliki has said had targeted him.

According to Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi, the ministry requested the hand over but was still waiting for a reply from authorities in the northern region.

Al-Hashemi has denied the charges and demanded that the trial be held in Kurdistan with Arab League members present.

Tensions between al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government and politicians representing the Sunni minority are on the rise, with al-Maliki seen to be targeting his Sunni political rivals in an attempt to consolidate Shiite control of the government in the wake of the US troop withdrawal.

He has also asked parliament to sack his Sunni deputy, Saleh al-Mutlaq. Both al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq belong to the Iraqiya Bloc, which has strong Sunni support, and is a partner in government.