US forces have arrested the mayor of Falluja, one of eight local officials who quit a day after a bloody guerrilla raid in the Iraqi town, a local councillor said on Monday.
US soldiers arrested Raed Hussein Breisha on Sunday, the day he handed in his resignation after receiving numerous death threats, said Issa al-Aday, deputy head of Falluja's council.
It was not clear why Breisha was arrested.
Aday said the US forces detained him because he did not have their permission to quit. The US military had no immediate comment.
Four other city councillors and three of the city's 45-member governing council also resigned on Sunday, Aday said.
Breisha's office was one of those hit when scores of gunmen stormed a police station and two other government buildings in Falluja on Saturday. The attack in the city, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, killed 22 police and a civilian.

Copyright Reuters, 2004

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