U.S. troops detain news editor of Iraq TV station

By Wisam Mohammed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Monday they had detained the news editor of a television station owned by Iraq's most powerful political party and his son, who is accused of involvement in attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Hafodh al-Beshara, news editor and manager of political programming of the al-Furat television station, was detained during a raid on the channel's offices in Baghdad's central Karrada district late last week.

Al-Furat is owned by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the biggest Shi'ite party in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government. Its leader is Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq's most influential politicians, who has been courted by Washington and met President George W. Bush at the White House in November.

The U.S. military said in an e-mail response to questions from Reuters that Beshara had been detained in the operation to arrest his son, who was identified in an earlier statement as a suspected militia intelligence operative.

"His (Beshara) detention had nothing to do with his place of employment or his relationship to his son," U.S. military spokesman Major Brad Leighton said.

A U.S. military official with knowledge of the operation said Beshara had been held because an unauthorized belt-fed machinegun had been found in a search of his home.

The military said Beshara's son was suspected of belonging to the "special groups", jargon for rogue units of Shi'ite militias that they say receive weapons and training from Iran. Tehran denies the charge.

"The targeted individual reportedly aided in Special Groups criminal militia attacks on Iraqi and (U.S.-led) Coalition forces as an intelligence operative," a military statement said.

The son, who was not named, does not work at the TV station.

The manager of Furat television, Abbas al-Essawi, called the arrest of Beshara "provocative".

"The American forces raided our channel on Saturday night. They put all the guards in one room and took away their weapons," he told Reuters.

He said the soldiers had then searched a house behind the station building and arrested Beshara and his son.

"They told us: 'We don't have any problem with him (Beshara). We just want to ask him some questions.'," he said.

The military said the raid took place on Friday night.

(Additional reporting by Michael Holden and Ross Colvin; Writing by Ross Colvin; Editing by Jon Boyle)