Iraqiya TV identified the captive as Abu al-Farouq, a Syrian. It said he was captured with five other alleged al-Qaida operatives in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. The raid was carried out by the ministry's counterinsurgency Wolf Brigade.
Forces of the Interior Ministry, under the control of the country's majority Shiite Muslims, are routinely accused by minority Sunnis of targeting civilians within their community.
Also Monday, the Defense Ministry reported Iraqi security forces had killed 35 insurgents and arrested 487 in nationwide raids since Wednesday, when bombers blew up a major Shiite Muslim shrine in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The
Wolf Brigade was formed in 2004 and has about 2,000 troops. Shi'ites love the group, which is known for its ruthless effectiveness and its own television show (think Cops), but there have also been complaints of abuse and brutality.
The Wolf Brigade was formed in October 2004 as the brainchild of Abul Waleed, a 41-year-old three-star general from the old regime who goes only by his nom de guerre. He's a Shiite, complete with a photo of Imam Ali and religious chants programmed into his constantly ringing cell phone. Part of his appeal is his familiar, Saddam-era look: shoe-polish black hair, wide mustache and an olive drab uniform topped with a red beret.
There are about 2,000 commandos in the Wolf Brigade, Abul Waleed said. Nine have died and 18 have been wounded in the line of duty. Many of the highest-ranking officers in the brigade are Sunnis and, when asked about other minorities, Abul Waleed promptly summoned a Kurd and even a Yazidi, a member of a tiny ancient sect in northern Iraq.
The brigade trained with U.S. forces for nearly two months before making its debut in Mosul, the flashpoint Sunni city northwest of Baghdad where the commandos hunted Sunni Muslim extremists. Confident in his men's performance, Abul Waleed allowed the videotaping of interrogations and turned it into a primetime TV show.
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