NAJAF, Iraq, Aug 25 (AFP) - The most influential aide to Shiite Muslim militia leader Moqtada Sadr, Sheikh Ali Smeisim, was arrested Wednesday in the besieged holy city of Najaf, police said.
Smeisim was detained along with four other lieutenants of the radical cleric in the Al-Saad district near the 1920 Revolution Square, said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.
Deputy Najaf police chief, General Amer al-Daami, told reporters that four Sadr supporters were arrested with a tablet engraved with verses of the Koran, dating back centuries and a stash of dollars.
The booty was shown to reporters, but Daami refused to divulge the names of those arrested.
Inside the Imam Ali mausoleum, where hundreds of Sadr`s supporters were Wednesday trapped by US forces, only a relatively small number of people were aware of Smeisim`s arrest.
"It`s hard to believe. This government is just like the (former) Saddam (Hussein) regime. They operate just like the Baathists," said a militiamen who gave his name only as Mohammed.
"They arrested Smeisim even though he had the green light to go and carry out negotiations," he added.
The lieutenant was picked up by police outside Najaf`s historic Old City, which has been dogged by heavy fighting between US-led Iraqi government troops and Sadr`s Mehdi Army for three weeks.
On Tuesday, Smeisim told reporters the Mehdi Army was ready to re-negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict, faced with what looked like an imminent US-led assault.
Also responsible for overseeing the mausoleum and its priceless treasures, Smeisim holds one of just two sets of keys to the complex.