Sun Jan 8, 2006

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops launched a pre-dawn raid on Sunday on the headquarters of the influential Sunni Arab Muslim Clerics' Association, which opposes the U.S. occupation, and detained five people, the association said.

U.S. troops burst into the Umm al-Qora mosque complex in western Baghdad at 3 a.m., blowing doors off hinges and ransacking offices, an association official who declined to be named told Reuters.

The U.S. military said it was checking the report.

Reuters Television footage showed spent shotgun shells and special explosive charges used to blow out door locks lying on the ground. Many office doors showed signs of forced entry.

In one room, cupboards used to store the shoes of those attending prayers had what appeared to be Christian crosses scrawled on them. Other footage showed papers strewn on office floors and windows smashed.

The Muslim Clerics' Association is an influential group of Sunni scholars who hold sway over many Sunnis, especially in western Anbar province, heartland of the insurgency. Its leaders have called on U.S. forces to withdraw from
Iraq and boycotted the December 15 parliamentary election.

"They took Sheikh Unis al-Ugaidi (a member of the association), two employees and two guards," said a source in the office of Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, who heads the association.

"We do not know the reason, but it's obvious, it's due to the Association's attitude toward the occupation," he said.

He said U.S. troops had disarmed about 20 bodyguards stationed in the complex and confiscated their weapons.

About 20 percent of Iraq's population are Sunni Muslims.