Iraqi Official says US Violated Iraq's Sovereignty in Raid that Killed PM's Relative
29 June 2008
An Iraqi provincial leader has accused the U.S. military of violating
Iraq's sovereignty by conducting a raid that killed a relative of Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Iraqi officials say U.S. troops backed
by helicopters raided the town of Hindiyah, near the Shi'ite holy city
of Karbala early Friday and killed an Iraqi security guard related to
Mr. Maliki.
Karbala's governor, Aqil al-Khuzaie said Sunday that
the U.S. operation violated an agreement that transferred his province
to Iraqi control last year.
The U.S. military says troops shot
the man in self-defense after seeing him emerge from a building holding
an AK-47 rifle as if to fire. The military says it "deeply regrets" the
loss of life and is investigating the incident.
In another
development, a car bomb killed seven Iraqi policemen in the
north-central town of Duluiya, in Salahuddin province on Sunday.
In
other violence, gunmen in Baghdad killed a visiting intelligence chief
from the southern city of Basra in a drive-by shooting Saturday. The
official, Brigadier General Jabar Musaid, was killed while visiting
relatives in a neighborhood controlled by Shi'ite militias.
Also,
the U.S. military says troops killed two terrorists in Baghdad Saturday
during raids targeting al-Qaida propaganda operatives.
The U.S. raid in Hindiyah that killed a relative of the prime minister comes at a sensitive time for U.S.-Iraqi relations.
Washington
is negotiating a deal with Baghdad to allow U.S. forces to stay in Iraq
beyond December 31, when their United Nations mandate expires. Iraqi
officials have said any deal must not violate their country's
sovereignty.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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