Iraq's Shiite-led Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant Thursday for the top leader of the country's Sunni minority - a move certain to inflame already raging sectarian violence in Iraq. Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, a Shiite, announced on state television that Harith al-Dhari was wanted for inciting terrorism and violence among the Iraqi people.
On Friday, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh played down what al-Bolani had said about the arrest warrant. "There was an investigation warrant related to the activities of Sheik Harith al-Dhari," al-Dabbagh told state-run Iraqiyah television. "This is up to the Iraqi judiciary system and has not political effect." |