BAGHDAD - IRAQ'S prime minister denounced a deadly US raid on Sunday as a 'crime' that violated the security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.
The US military, however, strongly denied that it overstepped its bounds and said it notified Iraqi authorities in advance - in accordance with the rules that took effect this year governing US battlefield conduct.
The fallout over the raid in the southern Shiite city of Kut - which left at least one person dead and six arrested - marks the most serious test of the security pact so far and could bring new strains during a critical transition period.
US forces plan to move out of most major Iraqi cities by the end of June in the first phase of a promised withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011.
A statement from Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki - in his role as commander general of Iraqi forces - called the raid a 'violation of the security pact'. He asked the US military 'to release the detainees and hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts', according to an Iraqi security official who read the statement to The Associated Press.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the mosque in Kut, about 160 kilometres southeast of Baghdad, to decry the American action and demand an investigation.
The US military said its troops acted within the framework of the security pact, saying 'the operation was fully coordinated and approved by the Iraqi government'. The accord, which took effect Jan 1, requires American commanders to coordinate raids and other pre-planned strikes with the Iraqi government and military, or work in joint US-Iraq units.
At least one person died in the raid, which the US military said targeted the financier of Shiite militia factions believed to be backed by the Iranians. Iraqi officials placed the death toll at two.
The Defence Ministry spokesman, Mohammed Al-Askari, said an Iraqi brigade commander and a battalion commander were arrested for 'allowing American troops to conduct a military operation in Kut province without informing the Iraqi government or coordinating with it'.
Kut provincial police chief, Brigadier General Raed Shakir Jawdat, said he was unaware a raid was conducted. The US military did not provide information on whether Iraqi security forces took part. -- AP
