Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat- Omar Abdul Sattar, member of the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) and one of the leaders of Vice-President Tariq Al Hashimi’s Iraqi Islamic party (IIP), has confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that U.S.-backed Iraqi soldiers did carry out a murder and kidnapping operation against a number of Iraqis, among whom were leaders of the Iraqi Islamic party.

According to the IIP, a senior member of the party was killed in his bed and five others were arrested during the raid in the al-Bualwan village, west of Fallujah in the province of Al Anbar.

Abdul Sattar told Asharq Al-Awsat that these troops were not based in Fallujah, but came from elsewhere to carry out this operation. He added ‘The surprise is that a similar incident occurred two years ago against families living in the region since the 1970s who are well-known for their love of family and their protection of each other’.

Abdul Sattar emphasized that, ‘This operation was a violation of human rights, and also a warning regarding the security of the region where a military operation can take place without the prior knowledge of the governor of the region, or the prior knowledge of the leaders of the local army or police, especially since it occurred without the prior knowledge of the local American forces’.

He said ‘the Islamic party has cut all ties with the Americans, and we are waiting for the Americans explanation of the incident as well as the reason for the operation in the first place. What has occurred is a violation of the approved agreements with the American forces’.

It is worth mentioning that the IIP has been locked in a bitter rivalry with Sunni tribal leaders who joined forces with the United States against al-Qaeda in Iraq in so-called Awakening Councils that started in Anbar and spread to other Sunni areas.