McClatchy: Disputed U.S. raid in Iraq reportedly kills a Maliki relative

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Disputed U.S. raid in Iraq reportedly kills a Maliki relative
By Hannah Allam | McClatchy Newspapers


BAGHDAD — Outraged Iraqi officials demanded an investigation into an early-morning U.S. military raid Friday near the birthplace of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, saying the operation violated terms of the security handover of Karbala province.

Karbala Gov. Oqeil al Khazaali said U.S. forces killed an unarmed civilian and arrested at least one person in the raid in the Janaja district of the southern province. The governor’s brother, Hassanein al Khazaali, said late Friday that the Iraqi killed in the operation was a relative of the prime minister.

The U.S. military command in Baghdad did not comment on the raid. Two senior aides to Maliki were not available for comment; one was still in a meeting with the prime minister after midnight.

Iraqi officials in Karbala said the operation began at dawn Friday with U.S. aircraft delivering dozens of American troops to the rural Shiite Muslim area of Janaja, which is populated mostly by members of the Maliki tribe.

Khazaali, the U.S.-allied governor, denounced the operation at a news conference, saying the U.S. military had not coordinated in advance with Iraqi forces, which assumed control of Karbala security in October 2007. The governor said the raid set “a dangerous precedent” for areas ostensibly under full Iraqi control.

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