Sadrist lawmaker says U.S. troops raided his office; military denies involvement

Members of the political block of Moqtada al-Sadr at a press conference in November announcing their withdrawal from government to protest Maliki's meeting with Bush. Sadr's movement is part of the coalition in the National Assembly on which Prime Minister Maliki depends to remain in office.

BAGHDAD: A Sadrist lawmaker said U.S. troops raided his office Wednesday, seizing the memory card from his computer along with a gun and a rifle. The U.S. military said it was not involved.

Bahaa al-Araji, one of 30 members of parliament loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said the troops arrived at his office in the northern neighborhood of Kazimiyah at about 3 a.m.

They asked the guards whether the lawmaker was in the office and went in after they were told he was not, al-Araji said, calling the raid a violation of Iraq's sovereignty...

The U.S. military denied it was involved, saying it had "no reports about a raid being conducted on a Sadrist office" in Kazamiyah.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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