Iraqi forces storm governor's office in Diyala province

IRAQ:IRAQI FORCES stormed the governor's offices in Baquba yesterday, capital of the turbulent Diyala province, killed his secretary and exchanged fire with police.

Governor Raad Rashid Mulla Jawad, a Shia, said the head of the provincial security committee, Hussein al-Zubaidi, and the president of Diyala University, Nazar al-Kafaji, a Sunni, were detained. The 41-member provincial council suspended its activities in protest and demanded an investigation into the pre-dawn operation.

The raid ended a week-long suspension of a crackdown in Diyala by Iraqi troops and police, supported by US forces, on al-Qaeda fighters and insurgents. The offensive also gave government forces the opportunity to arrest commanders and disarm fighters of US-backed "Awakening Councils", Sunni tribal groups which have recruited former insurgents.

Although the US military credits the councils with helping to rout al-Qaeda from Sunni majority provinces like Diyala, the Shia fundamentalist government seems determined to disband these groups which, aides to prime minister Nuri al-Maliki claim, could turn their weapons on the Shia-dominated security forces.

An Iraqi official with access to intelligence said many of the 14,000 fighters belonging to the Diyala groups had been members of al-Qaeda.

However, analysts argue that the councils could challenge the rule of Mr Maliki's government partner, the Shia Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, in Diyala in forthcoming elections.

While there has been no national campaign against Sunni volunteers, some leaders in western Baghdad and south of the capital have been arrested. Since the emergence of the councils, the US has spent $200 million (€135 million) on salaries, training and equipment for the 100,000 Sunni fighters.

Washington has pressed the Maliki government to integrate these men into the armed forces and police or find them employment in the civil service. But the government has accepted only 23,357 and provided posts for 17,000. Taking armed action against these men, who have seen thousands of their comrades killed in battle with al-Qaeda, could alienate the Sunni community.

Hashem al-Taai, a legislator from the Iraqi Islamic Party, which recently rejoined the government, warned: "The govern- ment must listen to what the Awakening Councils have to say. They deserve that because of all the sacrifices they have made."