Mohsen Abdul Hamid, the head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, speaks at a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq Monday, May 23, 2005. U.S. troops detained Hamid along with his three sons and four guards on May 30, 2005. photo: Yahoo

    BEIJING, May 30 -- A top party official says U.S. troops have detained the head of Iraq's largest Sunni Muslim political party Mohsen Abdul Hamid during a house raid in western Baghdad.

    The party's secretary-general Ayad al-Samarei said that Mohsen Abdul Hamid was detained early Monday by American soldiers along with his three sons and four guards.

    A police official confirmed the arrests. U.S. officials could not immediately confirm the detentions.

    The party has released a statement demanding that the US military release its chief who represents a large sector of the Iraqi people. It says this "irresponsible behavior will only complicate the situation."

    Tensions have been high in recent weeks during a spate of violence in the country, some which has demonstrated Sunni-Shiite tensions.

    Hamid, aged in his late 60s, is regarded as a moderate Islamic leader and has headed his party since the 1970s.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)