Iraqi official suspected of militia links
His arrest could widen probes of Shiite networks
The arrest of Ali al-Lami — taken Wednesday as he left a plane arriving from Lebanon — reinforced suspicions about Tehran's influence within the Shiite-led Iraqi government and could open wider probes into Shiite networks, including possible links to Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Al-Lami heads a commission responsible for keeping Saddam Hussein loyalists out of government posts and has been a target of criticism from Sunni leaders who claim the government wants to limit the overall Sunni voice in political and security issues.
He was arrested by U.S. and Iraqi troops at Baghdad's airport as he returned with his family from medical treatment in Beirut, said a member of his committee, Qaiser Watout.
U.S. and Iraqi troops were waiting for al-Lami as the plane's doors opened, Watout said.
"We condemn this act," Watout said. "Al-Lami was a moderate official and we are surprised by his arrest."
U.S. military officials would not confirm the arrest of al-Lami, who has been involved in government affairs since shortly after Saddam's fall in 2003.
"The man has been known to travel in and out of Iraq to neighboring nations including Iran and Lebanon, where it is believed he meets and helps run the Iranian-backed Special Groups in Iraq," the U.S. military statement said.
In Washington, a senior U.S. military intelligence official said Thursday that the statement referred to al-Lami and that he was believed to have information that would lead investigators to people connected to "other countries," an apparent reference to Iran and Lebanon.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case but said he had personally reviewed "multiple and corroborating reports" pointing to al-Lami.
Iraqi Shiite parties that dominate the government maintain close ties to Iran, where many key figures spent years in exile during Saddam's rule. U.S. officials have long maintained that Iran's Revolutionary Guards, through its elite Quds Force, arms and trains Shiite extremists — a charge Tehran denies.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have also alleged that the Iranians use members of Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah to train Iraqi Shiite militants. Hezbollah has denied the allegation.
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