US troops detain head of largest Iraq Sunni party News
US troops detain head of largest Iraq Sunni party

[JURIST] US troops detained the leader of Iraq's largest Sunni Muslim political party in a house raid in western Baghdad early Monday, confiscating several items including a computer. Mohsen Abdul Hamid is head of the Iraqi Islamic Party [official website], which called for his immediate release. The Sunni Muslims [Wikipedia backgrounder] lost power after Saddam Hussein's downfall, allowing Iraq’s Shiite [Wikipedia backgrounder] community to gain influence, and tensions between the two groups have increased in recent weeks. The US has urged participation from both groups [JURIST report] in the writing of Iraq's new constitution. Hamid was also a member of the now dissolved US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council. AP has more.