Deputy health minister detained by Iraqi troops

Iraqi forces today detained a senior Health Ministry official accused of corruption and helping to funnel millions of pounds to Shiite militiamen blamed for much of the recent sectarian violence in the capital, the US military said.

The raid was the latest in a crackdown on radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia, coming a day after the chief US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said a security sweep to stop the rampant attacks in the capital was under way.

Iraqi Maj Gen Abdullah Khamis, the army commander for eastern Baghdad, said the arrest of the Health Ministry official was not part of the security operation, which he said would be different from two previous attempts that failed to pacify the capital.

“The elements of the new plan will be completely different in all aspects from the previous plans,” he said. “It will be comprehensive ... it will enjoy political support.”

Violence was unrelenting today, with car bombs striking Shiite targets in Baghdad and south of the capital. At least 43 people were killed or found dead in Iraq.

The military also announced that four US Marines were killed yesterday in fighting in Anbar province, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, according to a statement.

The deaths raised to at least 3,114 members of the US military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003.

The US Embassy in Baghdad, meanwhile, said US officials were investigating a January 31 incident involving a civilian helicopter after The New York times reported that insurgents had brought the chopper down with ground fire during a flight between Hillah and Baghdad.

If confirmed, it would be the sixth helicopter to crash in Iraq since January 20, prompting the US military to review flight operations.

The most recent crash occurred yesterday when a CH-46 Sea Knight went down north-west of Baghdad, killing seven people.

The military statement did not name the official, but a ministry spokesman said earlier that US and Iraqi forces had seized deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili, an al-Sadr supporter, from his first-floor office in northern Baghdad.

A large white boot print was left on the bullet-pocked office door, which apparently had been kicked in by the troops, and shattered glass as well as overturned computers and phones were scattered on the floor.

The Shiite Health Minister Ali al-Shemari, who also has been linked to al-Sadr, and several other members of the movement denounced the raid.

“This is a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said. “They should have a court order to carry out a raid like this.”

The detainee was implicated in the deaths of several ministry officials, including the director-general in Diyala province, north-east of Baghdad, the military said.

He reportedly orchestrated several kickback schemes related to inflated contracts for equipment and services, with millions of dollars allegedly funnelled to the Mahdi Army militia that is loyal to al-Sadr, according to the statement.

The official also was suspected of providing large-scale employment of militia members who used Health Ministry facilities and services for “sectarian kidnapping and murder,” the military said.

Joint US-Iraqi forces stormed the Health Ministry compound early Thursday, causing all the employees to flee, spokesman Qassim Yahya said.

One of al-Zamili’s bodyguards said he heard gunshots, then the Americans asked him to step aside and approached the deputy health minister, who introduced himself by name and title. A US soldier told al-Zamili he was on a list of wanted names and handcuffed him before leading him away, the bodyguard said.

In the deadliest attack today, a parked car bomb exploded about 10:30 a.m. at a meat market in the predominantly Shiite town of Aziziyah, 56 miles south of Baghdad, killing 20 people and wounding 45, police said.

Another parked car bomb tore through a minibus nearly an hour earlier in the mainly Shiite Amin neighbourhood in south-eastern Baghdad, killing seven passengers and wounding 10, police said.

The blast blew out the windows of at least one car parked in a nearby driveway and left piles of rubble and ashes that were being cleared away by street sweepers as the burned out frame of the bus stood nearby.

Baghdad’s streets have been electric with tension as U.S. officials confirmed the new security operation was under way. US vehicles rushed through streets and Iraqi armoured personnel carriers guarded bridges and major intersections.

New coils of barbed-wire and blast barriers marked checkpoints that caused traffic bottlenecks. US Apache helicopters were in the air over parts of the city where they hadn’t been seen before. Gunfire still rang out across the city and some residents said they doubted life would get better.

“Nothing will work; it’s too late,” said Hashem al-Moussawi, a resident of the Sadr City Shiite enclave who was badly wounded in a bombing in December.