Iraq: American Contractor Arrested with Explosives in Car

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An American described as a security contractor arrested by police in a northern Iraqi town was carrying weapons in his car, a provincial official said.

Abdullah Jebara, the Deputy Governor of Salahaddin province, told Reuters the man was arrested in
Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit on Monday. He was removed from the provincial government building by U.S. forces on Tuesday, Jebara said.

The Joint Coordination Center between the U.S. and Iraqi military in Tikrit said the man, whom it described as a security contractor working for a private company, possessed explosives which were found in his car. It said he was arrested on Tuesday.

The man, driving a BMW, was stopped by police for violating a daytime curfew in Tikrit, a security source said. American security personnel rarely travel alone.

A spokesman for the major crimes unit in Tikrit said the man was first brought to their headquarters but they refused to take him into custody.

The arresting police were told to take the man to the provincial council building, the spokesman said, where he was taken by American forces.

U.S. officials had no immediate comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060314/ts_nm/iraq_american_dc

Related:
Robert Fisk: Who Benefits from a Civil War in Iraq

Cars stolen in US used in suicide attacks

Many Iraqis believe ’suicide’ bombings done by US to start a civil war

Undercover British soldiers caught red-handed:
Dressed as Arabs in a car full of explosives with a remote detonator