Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    CAIRO, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) has condemned U.S. raid on the headquarters of the Association of the Muslim Scholars (AMS) in western Baghdad, expressing hope that the Iraqi government would be able to contain the situation.

    AL made the condemnation in a statement, which said the AL Secretary General Amr Moussa was following up reports that U.S. forces stormed the headquarters of the AMS and arrested the mosque's guards.

    The Iraqi and U.S. forces on Saturday detained 18 persons on suspicion of having links with al-Qaida during a crackdown on Umal-Qura complex that houses the AMS headquarters in Ghazalia area in western Baghdad, the Egyptian MENA news agency quoted the U.S. army in Iraq as saying.

    The AMS condemned the U.S. raid, holding the U.S. forces responsible for the safety of its detainees and calling for their immediate release.