Iraq intends to arrest Chalabi after public holiday

Iraq's interim defence minister said tonight the government would arrest Iraqi National Congress leader Mr Ahmad Chalabi after…

Iraq's interim defence minister said tonight the government would arrest Iraqi National Congress leader Mr Ahmad Chalabi after the Eid al-Adha holiday for allegedly maligning the defence ministry.

"We will arrest him and hand him over to Interpol. We will arrest him based on facts that he wanted to malign the reputation of the defence ministry and defence minister," Mr Hazim al-Shaalan told Al Jazeera television.

He added that the measures would start after the Muslim holiday which began on Jan. 20th.