U.S. Sorry For Shiite Son's Arrest

Al-Sagheer said the younger al-Hakim's security guards were also detained at the Zirbatyah crossing point. Later, al-Sagheer said Amar al-Hakim was freed about 8 p.m., although his bodyguards remained in custody. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the arrest was being investigated but stressed that Washington did not mean any disrespect to al-Hakim or his family. "I am sorry about the arrest," he said. "We don't know the circumstances of the arrest and we are investigating . . . but he is being released." U.S. authorities have complained about Iranian weapons sales and financial aid to major Shiite parties in Iraq, especially the Mahdi Army of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Both Washington and Iraqi leaders have vowed that no one would be exempt as a major security operation was underway in Baghdad. In December, U.S. troops detained two Iranian security officials in the home of a Shiite politician associated with al-Hakim. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2007/02/23/pf-3658757.html

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