US captures Qaeda suspect in killing of key Iraq ally

BAGHDAD (AFP) - - The US military said it had captured a suspect in the killing of a key Iraqi ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, as violence left 22 people dead on Sunday after the militants warned of a bloody Ramadan.
The suspected Al-Qaeda fighter was detained near Balad, north of Baghdad, on Saturday, two days after Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Reesha was killed in a car bomb near his home in western Anbar province, a military statement said.
Abu Reesha, a Sunni Arab tribal leader, had spearheaded the fight against Al-Qaeda in Anbar and was an important ally of the United States in its battle against the Iraqi affiliate of Osama bin Laden's jihadist network.
The US military named the detained Iraqi as Fallah Khalifa Hiyas Fayyas al-Jumayli and said he was also suspected of involvement in a plot to kill tribal leaders in Anbar.
"He is also reportedly responsible for car bomb and suicide vest attacks in Anbar province, and is closely allied with senior Al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders in the region," the statement said.
The Islamic State of Iraq, which is affiliated to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for Abu Reesha's killing in an Internet statement on Friday, and warned it would target all Sunni leaders who support US troops in Iraq.
It also vowed a new offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Security and medical officials said at least 22 people died in bombings and gunbattles in Iraq, despite extra security forces deployed for Ramadan and a surge in US troop numbers aimed at quelling sectarian violence that has has killed thousands of Iraqis.
In Baghdad, the relative calm which had prevailed since the holy month began on Thursday was shattered when a car bomb ripped through crowds outside a shopping mall, killing two people and wounding seven, security and medical officials said.
In another incident, nine people were killed and 15 wounded when a US State Department motorcade came under fire in the Yarmuk neighbourhood of west Baghdad.
"The motorcade of six four-wheel drive vehicles came under fire and occupants of the motorcade returned fire in which nine bystanders were killed and 15 wounded," a security official said.
A US embassy official confirmed that there had been an exchange of fire involving a diplomatic convoy but had no word on any casualties.
"A US Department of State motorcade came under fire in Baghdad. There was escalation of force. The incident is under investigation," the official told AFP.
In northern Iraq, a suicide bomber triggered his explosive vest in a crowded cafe in the town of Tuz, south of the oil city of Kirkuk, killing eight people and wounding 19, officials said.
In Hilla, south of Baghad, a traffic policeman and his 16-year-old son were abducted by gunmen early Sunday and later found dead, police said.
In Baquba, north of the capital, a boy of six was killed by sniper fire.
The latest deaths brought the overall toll since the start of Ramadan to 51, according to an AFP tally.
The violence came against the backdrop of a deepening rift within the Shiite alliance that leads the Iraqi government.
The Shiite radical movement of firebrand anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced late Saturday that its 32 MPs were quitting the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA).
But the head of the movement's political committee, Liwa Sumaysim, denied on Sunday that the move was intended to undermine Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
"We have absolutely no intention of pushing Prime Minister Maliki out," Sumaysim told AFP.
UIA member of parliament Abbas al-Bayati said the alliance would try to persuade Sadr's movement to reconsider.
"We will not neglect the Sadr movement and will keep open channels of dialogue with them to listen to them and understand the reasons for their withdrawal," he said.
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