US interrogates 'al Qaeda sympathisers' in Iraq

10.15am

BAGHDAD - The US military said on Saturday it was interrogating 74 people detained in a raid in northern Iraq to determine whether they were active members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

"Initial indications are that they are al Qaeda sympathisers," a US army spokesman said. "What we're trying to do is validate that through the interrogation process."

Asked whether the group had been actively planning attacks on US forces, or just sympathised with bin Laden's anti-American ideology, the spokesman said: "An al Qaeda sympathizer is somebody who would do the coalition and the country of Iraq harm, and frankly the whole world harm."

The army said the suspected al Qaeda members were captured in a raid Thursday near the northern city of Kirkuk. It would not say whether they were Iraqis or foreigners.

US Central Command said in statement US forces had also captured the commander of the former Iraqi air force, Hamid Raja Shalah al-Tikriti.

He was number 17 of the US list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis but Centcom did not say where he was apprehended.

Paul Bremer, the US civil administrator in postwar Iraq, vowed to put a stop to foreign interference in the country. He did not name any state, but his choice to make his comments in the Shi'ite heartland of south-central Iraq suggested he was referring primarily to neighboring Iran.

"We are aware of interference in Iraq by some of its neighbors," Bremer told around a dozen leading tribal sheikhs in Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad.

"I believe it is not in the interests of the Iraqi people. You can be sure that I take very seriously the authority that the president has given to me to make sure that it stops."

Before the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, President Bush had accused the Iraqi leader of sponsoring terrorism and having links with al Qaeda. Saddam denied this and Washington has not proved its charges.

This week US forces fought their bloodiest battles in Iraq since Bush declared major combat over on May 1.

The US army said it killed 70 people in a combined air and land assault on a "terrorist training camp" in western Iraq on Thursday, and 27 people who it said ambushed a US tank patrol north of Baghdad Friday.

Friday's battle was fought near the town of Balad, some 90 km (north of Baghdad. Last Monday, US forces launched their biggest operation in more than six weeks to flush out guerrillas in the area who have staged repeated deadly ambushes on American soldiers.

The US army spokesman said the mission, called Operation Peninsula Strike, was winding down Saturday. He declined to give an estimate of civilian casualties from the operation.

Angry locals say houses were ransacked and residents detained, assaulted and shot during the US sweep through the restive, mainly Sunni Muslim area. They say the operation has fueled bitter resentment toward Iraq's US occupiers.

The US spokesman said American forces were careful to minimise civilian casualties and damage to property.

US officers say Saddam loyalists are behind attacks and ambushes in central Iraq that have killed some 40 US soldiers in the past six weeks.

The US army said foreign fighters were believed to be among the dead from Thursday's raid on the alleged terrorist camp in western Iraq, but declined to give nationalities.

Saturday was the final day of a two-week amnesty period for Iraqis to hand in their weapons without punishment.

The US military said the response to the amnesty had so far been limited. By Friday, 115 pistols, 75 semi-automatic rifles, 406 automatic rifles, 45 machineguns, 152 rocket- propelled grenade-launchers and 11 anti-aircraft weapons had been handed in, along with 266 grenades.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq