The government clamped a 24-hour curfew on the capital Saturday shortly after U.S. forces arrested the bodyguard of a Sunni leader on suspicion of plotting a suicide attack inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.
A U.S. Army statement said the bodyguard was part of an Al Qaeda cell “in the final stages of launching a series of … attacks.”
The statement said a seven-member cell believed to be linked to vehicle bombings in southern Baghdad was planning the attacks on the area that houses the Iraqi government and U.S. and other embassies under heavy military protection. The Army did not say whether it detained others.
The guard was arrested at the home of Adnan al-Dulaimi, one of the main figures in the minority Sunni bloc of parliament. Al-Dulaimi was not under suspicion, the Army said.
U.S. and Iraqi officials denied any connection between the curfew, announced late Friday, and the politically sensitive arrest. An Army spokesman said the U.S. had recommended the curfew in hopes of quelling violence that has spiked during the holy month of Ramadan.
“We have found these curfews are effective in bringing down the level of violence,” the spokesman said.
Iraqi officials gave a different explanation, saying the curfew was a reaction to a plot that sounded similar to the one U.S. officials described but was aimed instead at Baghdad residents.
“We received precise intelligence about the intentions of moving car bombs and terrorists with suicide belts to Baghdad,” said Brig. Gen. Qassim Mousawi, spokesman for the Defense Ministry.
The U.S. Army and al-Dulaimi sought to minimize political fallout from the arrest of the bodyguard, who recently had joined al-Dulaimi’s personal security detail.
In TV interviews, al-Dulaimi proclaimed the guard’s innocence, accusing unnamed enemies of trying to damage his reputation and derail national reconciliation. The guard, Khudhir Farhan, has no ties to terrorists, he said, and wouldn’t have been hired if he had.
Though al-Dulaimi was not implicated, the arrest left him open to scrutiny over his reputed associations with Sunni insurgent groups. In January, American journalist Jill Carroll was abducted and her driver killed as they were leaving al-Dulaimi’s headquarters after the lawmaker failed to show up for a scheduled interview.
Shiites reacted cautiously to the arrest of his guard.
“This is a serious sign when the security of a high-ranking official has been infiltrated by terrorist groups,” said Abbass Biati, a spokesman for the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance. But Biati said he would withhold judgment until an investigation is complete.
As Saturday’s curfew began, the capital was abuzz with another rumor: that the government had called the curfew after uncovering a coup attempt by an element of the military. Officials denied it.
“These rumors are being spread by the terrorists themselves who want to shake the confidence of the Iraqi people,” said Mousawi, the Defense Ministry spokesman.
Baghdad residents are accustomed to curfews, which are in force every Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. All-day curfews have been imposed intermittently, but usually with more warning.
More Top Picks Best Outdoor Speakers For Patios 2
Also Saturday, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said he supported the Iraqi prime minister’s plan to disband sectarian militias through negotiations while using his military to go after the most extreme elements.
Khalilzad said he disagreed with recent complaints by U.S. military officials in Iraq and politicians in Washington that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki isn’t doing enough to rein in Shiite militias implicated in thousands of death-squad killings.
Police on Saturday said they found 12 bodies in the morning and 23 more in the afternoon–all slaying victims in various Baghdad neighborhoods.