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Iraq MP 'aided parliament bomber' | Iraq MP 'aided parliament bomber' |
(about 9 hours later) | |
A Sunni lawmaker in Iraq could face arrest and charges over allegations he was involved in a 2007 bomb attack on the country's parliament. | A Sunni lawmaker in Iraq could face arrest and charges over allegations he was involved in a 2007 bomb attack on the country's parliament. |
Iraq's Shia-led government may now seek to have Mohammed al-Daini's immunity revoked after a warrant was issued. | Iraq's Shia-led government may now seek to have Mohammed al-Daini's immunity revoked after a warrant was issued. |
Alleged confessions obtained from two bodyguards linked Mr Daini to the attack, in which seven people died in a parliamentary canteen. | |
He condemned the bodyguards' arrest and pledged to respond to the accusations. | He condemned the bodyguards' arrest and pledged to respond to the accusations. |
The Associated Press news agency said Mr Daini described the allegations as "untrue and baseless". | |
"They have the right to say anything they like and I have the right to give my answer," he told Reuters. | "They have the right to say anything they like and I have the right to give my answer," he told Reuters. |
The MP was reportedly put under effective house arrest at a hotel in Iraq's fortified Green Zone. | The MP was reportedly put under effective house arrest at a hotel in Iraq's fortified Green Zone. |
'Retribution' | 'Retribution' |
Announcing the allegations at a news conference, a military spokesman played recordings said to be taped interviews with the two bodyguards - one of whom was Mr Daini's nephew. | |
One of the men in the video recording, named as Riad Ibrahim al-Daini and said to be the MP's nephew, gave details of how the lawmaker allegedly helped facilitate the attack on parliament. | One of the men in the video recording, named as Riad Ibrahim al-Daini and said to be the MP's nephew, gave details of how the lawmaker allegedly helped facilitate the attack on parliament. |
The attack in April 2007 killed eight people, among them three MPs. | The attack in April 2007 killed eight people, among them three MPs. |
"The suicide bomber entered parliament with an authorisation paper from Mohammed al-Daini and blew himself up at the parliament," the video testimony said, according to the AFP news agency. | "The suicide bomber entered parliament with an authorisation paper from Mohammed al-Daini and blew himself up at the parliament," the video testimony said, according to the AFP news agency. |
The nephew also accused Mr Daini of involvement in a string of attacks during a bitter period of sectarian violence in Iraq. | |
"When 11 of Daini's security guards were killed... he asked militant groups to abduct about 100 people - he wanted 10 people for each of his guards," Riad al-Daini said on video, Reuters said. | "When 11 of Daini's security guards were killed... he asked militant groups to abduct about 100 people - he wanted 10 people for each of his guards," Riad al-Daini said on video, Reuters said. |
Mr Daini is a Sunni Muslim MP with Iraq's National Dialogue Front party. He was elected to parliament in 2005 to represent Diyala, a mixed Sunni-Shia area which has long been the scene of sectarian violence. | |
Iraq's government, headed by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, is led by a coalition of Shia Muslim parties. | Iraq's government, headed by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, is led by a coalition of Shia Muslim parties. |
Supporters of Mr Daini accused the ruling Shia majority of effectively persecuting their Sunni opponents, AP reported. |
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