Outrage as US troops arrest Sunni leader

FOUR American and four Italian military personnel were killed in separate aircraft crashes, military officials said yesterday, as Iraq’s prime minister condemned the arrest of a top Sunni political leader by US troops.

Yesterday’s 12-hour detention of Iraqi Islamic Party leader Mohsen Abdul-Hamid did little to help American efforts to entice Iraq’s once-dominant Sunni community back into the political fold.

The arrest of Abdul-Hamid, his three sons and four guards was condemned by Iraq’s president and prime minister plus the leaders of Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim groups.