Karbala’s local administration demands U.S. release 4 Karbala citizens

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: The local administration of southwestern Iraq’s Karbala Province has demanded that U.S. forces release four of its citizens, arrested by those forces, following an attack on one of their vehicles on Saturday. “The American forces have arrested four citizens from Karbala city, following an attack on one of their patrols by an explosive charge that did not cause any human or material losses,” Vice-Chairman of Karbala Province’s Council, Nuseif Jassim al-Khitaby told IraqiNews.com news agency. Khitaby said that Karbala’s local administration had held an emergency meeting today (Sunday), attended by all its 27 members and the Province’s Governor, demanding the U.S. forces to release the said detainees immediately, whilst it is striving to arrest the elements who were behind the attack. An explosive charge blew up against a U.S. Army patrol in northern Karbala’s Imam Aun district on Saturday, which prompted U.S. forces to impose a cordon around the area. “We called on the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces to interfere, through activation of the Strategic Agreements,” he said.   Karbala, the center of the province carrying the same name, is 108 km to the south of Baghdad. SKH (TS)/SR 817