Sunni legislator detained by U.S. military

After a Sunni lawmaker had attended a meeting of suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighters he was detained by the U.S. Iraqi troops.

Naif Jassim Mohammed was taken into custody Wednesday during a funeral for one of his neighbor's in Shurqat, about 230 kilometers (140 miles) north of Baghdad, according to Salim Abdullah, a spokesman for the Iraq Accordance Front, an alliance of three parties that have 44 of parliament's 275 seats. He said he didn't know why Mohammed was arrested.

The U.S. military said American and Iraqi troops acting on a tip seized a member of parliament on Sept. 29, but it did not identify the man other than to say he was a "suspected criminal leader."

He was being held for questioning "after being found at a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq meeting," according to a statement.

Lt. Justin Cole, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said he had no information about a similar raid in Shurqat late Wednesday, and the different time elements could not immediately be reconciled.

The man remained in custody Thursday and officials are reviewing the case, the U.S. military said.