May 23, 2005, 10:16PM
285 Iraqis detained in massive raid
Shiites call the U.S.-led mission random, say such acts fuel insurgents
By TOM LASSETER
Knight Ridder Tribune News
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers poured through Baghdad on Monday, detaining at least 285 suspected insurgents since Sunday in house-to-house searches and finding $6 million in a batch of $100 bills, the preferred currency for paying insurgent hit men and bomb-makers.
Bystanders were also apparently caught up in the dragnet, however. Some Iraqis said that while Operation Squeeze Play took some insurgents off the streets, it's also likely to fuel the same cycle that has hounded the American presence for two years: angering moderate Iraqis while giving insurgents a friendlier environment in which to carry out attacks.
Raad Mutlek, a Sunni Muslim, was sitting in a candy shop in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib neighborhood on Monday. He was filling in for the shop's owner, his cousin, who was detained the day before during Operation Squeeze Play.
"They came here and detained people randomly," Mutlek said. "The families of the innocent people who have been detained will seek revenge."
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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/world/3195006