Iraqi forces encircle Sunni fighters after clash
* Forces besiege district to quell Sunni guard uprising
* Head of Sunni Awakening movement condemns the guards
(Updates throughout with new details)
By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD, March 29 (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces besieged a Baghdad district on Sunday after Sunni neighbourhood patrolmen angry at the arrest of their leader clashed with police and troops in a gunfight that killed three people.
The shootout on Saturday between government forces and the guards, many of them former insurgents who switched sides and joined the U.S. military to fight al Qaeda, took place in the central Baghdad district of al-Fadhil after the arrest of Adil al-Mashhadani and at least one of his men.
Ties are tense between the Shi'ite Muslim-led government and the fighters, who numbered 100,000 nationwide at one point, and many fear being targeted for their insurgent past.
"Our forces are chasing only those who are wanted and who have committed crimes against innocent people," Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi told Iraqiya state TV as police and troops, backed by tanks and U.S. forces, encircled al-Fadhil. "We will deal harshly with anyone who carries weapons in the face of the Iraqi security forces or tries to shake the stability and security of Iraq," he said.
The Awakening Councils -- "Majalis al-Sahwa" in Arabic -- are led mostly by Sunni Arab sheikhs who rose against al Qaeda in 2006 and were recruited by the U.S. military in a bid to contain a raging insurgency unleashed by their 2003 invasion.
Moussawi told Reuters Mashhadani was wanted for heading a military wing of an off-shoot of Saddam Hussein's outlawed former Baath party.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for reconciliation with former Baathists, but his government has insisted it will crack down on anyone trying to revive Saddam's party. Seven alleged neo-Baathists were arrested in early March.
FIGHTERS WARNED
Three civilians were killed in Saturday's gunbattle, 15 people were wounded, and the Sunni Arab fighters took five Iraqi soldiers prisoner. There were conflicting reports about whether or not they had been released.
Sporadic gunfire could be heard on Sunday, witnesses said. A Reuters Television cameraman saw U.S. military vehicles alongside Iraqi army ones using loudspeakers to warn the fighters to put down their weapons in Arabic.
U.S. military helicopters hovered overhead.
The U.S. military did not respond to requests for comment.
Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, a leader of Iraq's national Awakening Movement, condemned the al-Fadhil fighters -- a sign the fallout from these clashes might be limited.
"I hold the Sahwa in al-Fadhil responsible for breaking the law and raising arms against the government," he said. "I call upon both the Sahwa fighters and the Iraqi security forces to restrain themselves. These actions will undermine the security gains we have achieved."
The Sahwas were credited with drastically cutting violence in Iraq after they switched sides, routing al Qaeda from parts of Baghdad, western Anbar province and some northern towns.
But deep mistrust remains between them and the government.
How the latter handles the guards it once fought is seen as a test of reconciliation after years of sectarian slaughter between Sunnis and Shi'ites, especially as U.S. combat troops prepare to pull out by Aug. 31, 2010.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have said fears of a new conflict between the Sahwas and the government are overblown.
Around 10 percent of them are expected to be incorporated into the police or army and the rest will be given other government jobs or help in setting up small businesses.
"We are in prison. We can't get out, we can't get in," said an official in al-Fadhil who declined to be named because he feared reprisals from the Iraqi army. (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami and Abdulrahman Taher; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Michael Christie)
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