Movement official arrested in Karbala air drop

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A key leader of the Hezbollah Movement in Iraq was arrested by U.S. forces in Karbala province during an early hour on Monday morning, according to a police source. “At 01:00 a.m. today, U.S. forces arrested Habib al-Tarafi, a key movement figure and an incoming member of Karbala provincial council,” Diyaa Kadhem al-Fayyad told IraqiNews.com news agency. The arrest was made during a U.S. air drop on Tarafi’s house in al-Maamajli’s area, downtown Karbala, Fayyad explained. “The reasons behind the arrest remain unknown,” Fayyad added. Tarafi survived an assassination attempt in 2007 when gunmen driving a motorbike opened fire on him while he was leaving his clinic. The Hezbollah Movement in Iraq is an Iraqi political party that is part of the United Iraqi Alliance coalition. It is not affiliated with the Lebanese group Hezbollah or Hezbollah al-Iraq, another Iraqi political party. The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1