Topic: Brother of Iraq parliament speaker arrested

KIRKUK, Iraq, Nov 11 (AFP) - A brother of Iraq's parliamentary speaker,
missing since Tuesday in the northern city of Kirkuk, has been arrested on
suspicion of aiding rebels, a Kurdish official said Friday.

"A special police unit arrested Hatem al-Hassani and two of his bodyguards
for implication in extremist activity," Razkar Ali, a local leader from
President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, told AFP.

Hatem, a 43-year-old car salesman, is a brother of national parliament
speaker Hajem al-Hassani, a Sunni Arab.

However, a third brother, General Qais al-Hassani, said he did not know
where Hatem was, adding that local police has denied arresting him.

Hatem's relatives said on Wednesday that he had been kidnapped the day
before along with two bodyguards, expressing concern he had been adbucted
because of his brother's position of political power.