Iraqi security forces encircled a Baghdad district today after Sunni neighbourhood patrolmen angry at the arrest of their leader clashed with police and troops in a gunfight that killed three people.
The shootout began yesterday between government forces and the guards, many of them former insurgents who switched sides and joined the US military to fight al Qaeda, took place in the central Baghdad district of al-Fadhil after the arrest of Adil al-Mashhadani and at least one of his men.
Ties are tense between the Shi'ite Muslim-led government and the fighters, who numbered 100,000 nationwide at one point, and many fear being targeted for their insurgent past.
"Our forces are chasing only those who are wanted and who have committed crimes against innocent people," Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi told Iraqi state TV as police and troops, backed by tanks and US forces, encircled al-Fadhil.
"We will deal harshly with anyone who carries weapons in the face of the Iraqi security forces or tries to shake the stability and security of Iraq," he said.
The Awakening Councils - "Majalis al-Sahwa" in Arabic - are led mostly by Sunni Arab sheikhs who rose against al Qaeda in 2006 and were recruited by the U.S. military in a bid to contain a raging insurgency unleashed by their 2003 invasion.