Questions raised over Diyala raid

BAGHDAD, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Government officials in Iraq Wednesday said lawmakers should disband any special unit involved in a raid on provincial offices in eastern Diyala province.

An Iraqi unit dressed in official military attire Tuesday stormed the offices of Hussein al-Zubaidi, the chief security official in the Diyala provincial council.

Zubaidi is a member of the Sunni Islamic Party of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, which has backed the establishment of a Kurdish federal region in Iraq. The raid follows a decision by Kurdish Peshmerga forces to hand over security responsibility in Diyala to Iraqi forces.

Abdel Karim al-Samarae, a defense official with the Sunni Accordance Front, told Voices of Iraq the government should disband any paramilitary force associated with the raid.

"I call to dissolve the special forces in the counter-terrorism unit and to integrate them into the defense and the interior ministries, in addition to calling to hold these forces accountable for their violations in the province," he said.

Diyala Deputy Gov. Awf Rahoumi said the assault on the provincial headquarters came from Baghdad but suggested the unit was not associated with the Defense or Interior ministries.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a special investigation into the Diyala raid to be headed by Interior Minister Jawad al-Boulani.