The U.S. military arrested Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi in Baghdad on Sunday. Al-Zubaidi was a returned exile associated with the opposition Iraqi National Congress who had declared himself mayor of Baghdad without sanction from U.S. occupation authorities.
His activities, including designation of "committees" to run city affairs, had complicated the efforts of postwar U.S. civil administrator Jay Garner to reorganize political life. A U.S. military spokesman said al-Zubaidi was arrested "for exercising authority which was not his."
A statement from the US Central Command headquarters in Qatar said al-Zubaidi was being detained outside Baghdad after repeated warnings to stop interfering.
Meanwhile, four U.S. soldiers were wounded when an attacker opened fire on them in central Baghdad on Sunday morning, the U.S. military said.
The soldiers were stopped in traffic in two Humvee all-terrain vehicles when the attacker shot at them, U.S. Central Command said in a statement issued in Qatar. One of the soldiers was in a serious condition.
The statement said the soldiers had been on a public health-related mission when they were attacked. (Albawaba.com)
