alt.war.iraq

. troops detain news editor of Iraq TV station

By Wisam Mohammed
Reuters
February 25, 2008

Baghdad - The . military said on Monday they had detained the news
editor of a television station owned by Iraq's most powerful political party
and his son, who is accused of involvement in attacks on . and Iraqi
forces.

Hafodh al-Beshara, news editor and manager of political programming of the
al-Furat television station, was detained during a raid on the channel's
offices in Baghdad's central Karrada district late last week.

Al-Furat is owned by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the biggest Shi'ite
party in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. Its leader is Abdul
Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq's most influential politicians, who has been
courted by Washington and met President George W. Bush at the White House in
November.

The . military said in an e-mail response to questions from Reuters that
Beshara had been detained in the operation to arrest his son, who was
identified in an earlier statement as a suspected militia intelligence
operative.

"His (Beshara) detention had nothing to do with his place of employment or
his relationship to his son," . military spokesman Major Brad Leighton
said.

A . military official with knowledge of the operation said Beshara had
been held because an unauthorized belt-fed machinegun had been found in a
search of his home.

The military said Beshara's son was suspected of belonging to the "special
groups", jargon for rogue units of Shi'ite militias that they say receive
weapons and training from Iran. Tehran denies the charge.

"The targeted individual reportedly aided in Special Groups criminal militia
attacks on Iraqi and (.-led) Coalition forces as an intelligence
operative," a military statement said.

The son, who was not named, does not work at the TV station.

The manager of Furat television, Abbas al-Essawi, called the arrest of
Beshara "provocative".

"The American forces raided our channel on Saturday night. They put all the
guards in one room and took away their weapons," he told Reuters.

He said the soldiers had then searched a house behind the station building
and arrested Beshara and his son.

"They told us: 'We don't have any problem with him (Beshara). We just want
to ask him some questions.'," he said.

The military said the raid took place on Friday night.

(Additional reporting by Michael Holden and Ross Colvin; Writing by Ross
Colvin; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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