Aide to Radical Iraqi Cleric Captured in Najaf

A key aide to radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has been captured by US forces during a raid in the holy city of Najaf.

Sadr's spokesman said Ryad al-Nuri, who is from Sadr's major office and reported to be Sadr's brother-in-law, was arrested by the US troops at his home on Wednesday morning.

The spokesman said the arrest was made without a fight, adding that the houses of three other aides of Sadr were targeted in simultaneous raids, but the US forces failed to capture them.

The spokesman condemned the action as a liquidation of Shiites, especially the followers of Sadr.

Branding Sadr as an outlaw allegedly linked to the murder of another Iraqi Shiite cleric, the US forces have vowed to kill or capture Sadr along with a number of other associates.

Clashes between US troops and militias loyal to Sadr have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Iraqis in the past six weeks, after the US-led coalition authority closed down a newspaper of Sadr and arrested his aide in Baghdad last month.