Baghdad Under Curfew After Upturn in Attacks

U.S. Detains Sunni Leader's Bodyguard

BAGHDAD, Sept. 30 -- The streets of Baghdad were mostly quiet Saturday, with the capital under total lockdown a day after U.S. troops arrested a bodyguard of a Sunni Arab political leader on suspicion of planning suicide bombings inside the fortified Green Zone.

The day-long curfew in this city of 7 million people was the first to ban both pedestrian and vehicle traffic since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, underscoring the security concerns enveloping Baghdad. It was requested by U.S. military officials concerned about the surge in suicide bombings and other violence since the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan began last weekend.

"There is no single reason," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman. "What we found was that implementing curfews from time to time helps break up the cycle of violence. It seemed like a prudent measure at this time to recommend a curfew."

The measure was announced Friday night, a few hours after U.S. troops raided the residence of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the leader of the largest Sunni Arab coalition in Iraq's parliament, and took into custody his bodyguard, identified by Dulaimi's supporters as Khudir Farhan Zargan.

"Credible intelligence indicates the individual, a member of Dr. Dulaimi's personal security detachment, and seven members of the detained individual's cell were in the final stages of launching a series of [car bomb] attacks inside the International Zone, possibly involving suicide vests," the U.S. military said in a statement.

The suspect, the statement added, was linked to a car bomb-producing network based in south Baghdad and was believed to be a member of the group al-Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. soldiers searched a security trailer and the suspect's car, but did not enter Dulaimi's home, said the statement.

On Saturday, Dulaimi denied that the bodyguard had any connection to terrorists.

"In the name of God, this news is absolutely not true. This is a suspicion only," Dulaimi said on al-Arabiya television. "This guard has joined the security force one month ago, and we have not noticed anything suspicious. The investigation will prove his innocence."

Dulaimi said his rivals had provided the U.S. military with false intelligence to "corrupt" his reputation and stop his work in parliament.

"This is unacceptable, both from a legal and ethical point of view," said Hussein al-Faluji, another Sunni member of parliament. "This bodyguard does not have any credentials which enable him to get into the Green Zone."

A few hours later, the U.S. military altered its statement to say that "this operation in no way implies [Dulaimi] was associated with any illegal activity; he was not the target in this operation."

In Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood on Saturday, the main road was empty save for police cars. Some food stalls remained open, and some young residents flouted the curfew and walked on the streets. Many expressed frustration, saying the curfew would do little to ease their lives.

"My life is destroyed because of the politicians and the government," said Firas Hatem, 31. "What have we gained from the curfew? Did they destroy the militias? Have they provided us with gas or electricity, or food? The curfew has pushed prices up, and everything is expensive, and the cheapest thing is us, meaning the human being."

In Tall Afar, 40 miles west of the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-rigged car, killing two civilians and injuring 30.

In the southern city of Basra, provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Waeli escaped an attempt on his life Saturday morning, when gunmen attacked his convoy, wounding three of his bodyguards.

In an interview on al-Iraqiya television, Waeli said the attack was carried out by gang members who had infiltrated Basra's police.

"My bodyguards were ready for them and returned the fire, which made the attackers, whose identities are now known to us, flee," Waeli said. "We are going to prosecute them. . . . They are members of gangs who have recently joined the Major Crime Unit and are using the unit's cars and weapons."

Special correspondents Salih Dehema and Saad al-Izzi, and other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.