WORLD BRIEFING / IRAQ
The surprise release of a Shiite Muslim militant linked to the killing of five U.S. soldiers is part of a high-stakes gambit that could result in freedom for five British hostages and a political role for a major Shiite extremist group with reputed ties to Iran.
Laith Khazali, a leading figure in the Asaib al Haq, or League of the Righteous, was freed from U.S. custody over the weekend and taken to his home in Baghdad’s Sadr City district, according to Iraqi officials.
Khazali and his brother Qais were arrested in 2007 and accused of organizing a bold raid on a local government headquarters on Jan. 20, 2007, in Karbala that killed five U.S. soldiers. Two months after the brothers were arrested, gunmen believed to be linked to the League seized British management consultant Peter Moore and four of his bodyguards from the Finance Ministry compound in central Baghdad.
Secret negotiations have been underway for months for their release in exchange for freedom for the Khazali brothers and others with the League, one of the Shiite “special groups” that the U.S. believes are backed by Iran.
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