IRAQ: U.S. forces raid Health ministry building in Iraq, and arrest Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili, loyal to anti American Shi'ite cleric

Record ID: 735281

  • Title: IRAQ: U.S. forces raid Health ministry building in Iraq, and arrest Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili, loyal to anti American Shi'ite cleric
  • Date: 8th February 2007
  • Summary: EMPLOYEES LEAVING BUILDING OF MINISTRY OF HEALTH (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) HAJJ KADHIM, HEALTH MINISTRY EMPLOYEE, SAYING: "The U.S. forces raided the ministry of health and arrested Hakim al-Zamili, the deputy health minister. They (U.S. forces) also broke the doors of the ministry of health and drove all the employees of the ministry of health away. They have attacked the bodyguards of the minister and the bodyguards of the deputy."
  • Embargoed: 23rd February 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA2KRIAUMX51CZ5K9YCHNA0BV2C
  • Story Text: U.S. and Iraqi forces arrested Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili, who is loyal to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, during the raid in Baghdad.

    U.S. and Iraqi forces raided the Health Ministry building in central Baghdad on Thursday (February 8) and arrested the deputy health minister, a ministry spokesman and witnesses said.
    Hakim Zamili, the deputy health minister, is a senior member of the political group loyal to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The raid comes one day after the U.S. military said a U.S.-Iraqi security plan to stabilise Baghdad was underway.
    "The U.S. forces raided the ministry of health and arrested Hakim al-Zamili, the deputy health minister. They (U.S. forces) also broke the doors of the ministry of health and drove all the employees of the ministry of health away. They have attacked the bodyguards of the minister and the bodyguards of the deputy," said Hajj Kadhim, an employee at the ministry of health.
    There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military, which has recently stepped up operations against some Sadr supporters and the Mehdi Army, a militia loyal to Sadr which U.S. military commanders accuse of widespread sectarian killings.
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