US arrests Iraqi militia chief

US forces are holding Ayad Futayyih Khalifa al-Rawi, number 30 on America’s list of the 55 most-wanted former Iraqi officials, the military said today.

Al-Rawi commanded a mass militia force that supposedly included millions of volunteer fighters, according to a statement released by the US Central Command.

He was chief of staff of the al-Quds Force, which was set up three years ago by Saddam Hussein to act as a back-up to the regular army.

Iraqi authorities claimed that the force consisted of seven million members, mostly civilians who received some basic military training. The real numbers were believed to have been much smaller and it played almost no role during the last war.