BAGHDAD, Nov 30: Iraqi and US troops cracked down on a powerful leader, Adnan Al Dulaimi, on Friday, arresting his son, dozens of his guards and placing him under effective house arrest after bombs were found near his premises.

An angry Dulaimi denied knowledge of the bombs and warned that the action could have consequences for Iraq’s political reconciliation process.

The US military said Iraqi forces had “asked Dulaimi to remain in his residence for his own personal safety. Iraqi security forces posted guards outside his home and placed a curfew in the area.”

But Dulaimi, who said the car bombs could have been targeting him, blasted what he described as ‘confinement’. “This is not for my protection. It is a confinement. I am not able to go anywhere nor can anybody come to visit me. They are not allowing it,” he said.

“I will try to go to parliament tomorrow and if they prevent me then it would be clear that I am confined” in the house.

He said US and Iraqi troops had detained 43 people, among them his son, in raids on his Baghdad office and home after discovering the car bombs on Thursday.—AFP