Brig. Gen. Qasim al-Moussawi made the announcement at a news conference Sunday of the March 8 raid. He said four cars at the home of Dhafir al-Ani also showed traces of explosives residue.

Moussawi said seven men were arrested in the raid but six were released within 48 hours. The unidentified man still being held was in the possession of what Moussawi said was a "sniper rifle" with a Koranic verse inscribed on it, the Times said.

In an interview, Ani said the raid by the predominantly Shiite-led security forces was politically motivated. He is a member of the Iraqi Consensus Front, which has 44 seats in the 275-member Parliament and often spars with Shiite coalition members.

Ani also challenged the allegations of explosives residue on the vehicles, questioning why dogs and other security devices hadn't found anything when the vehicles were driven to Parliament.