Iraqi minister: I was imprisoned by US, now I meet with its ambassador

Man formerly arrested for smuggling arms used to attack US troops has been appointed to one of Iraq’s most powerful ministries.

Qasim Al-Araji was twice by American forces in Iraq on charges of smuggling arms used to attack US troops and involvement in an assassination cell at the height of the sectarian violence that engulfed the oil rich state following the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein.

Back in 2007, Al-Araji was held by the United States for 23 months. He spent most of his captivity at Bucca prison, including long periods in solitary confinement, AP reported. He now heads the interior ministry, which is of one of Iraq’s most powerful offices.

Read: 352 civilians accidentally killed in Syria, Iraq says US 

In a recent interview with AP Al-Araji laughed off questions about lingering hostility toward US forces saying:

I was their prisoner and now I meet with their ambassador.

Al-Araji’s office confirmed that he met with the US ambassador to Iraq within days of taking office to express his support for the US role in the fight against Daesh and to request additional support for his ministry and forces.

Under Al-Araji, the interior ministry has already received more support from the US-led coalition.

The US is also training and arming local and border police across Iraq, other forces that now fall under Al-Araji’s command.

Read: Baghdad says US promised continuing support for Iraq against Daesh

Al-Araji, who spent years in exile in Iran, first travelled there as a teenager in the 1980s and was trained by Iranian special forces as a guerrilla fighter to resist Hussein’s regime. In the Iran-Iraq war, he fought on Iran’s side. During the interview Al-Araji described his years in Iran as a fighter as being formative.

After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, Al-Araji and thousands of other fighters poured across the border into Iraq.

Appointed in January, Al-Araji has taken over the ministry at a critical time for the country’s security forces who are under increasing pressure to eliminate the last pockets of Daesh control, prevent an insurgency from bubbling up in the wake of territorial victories, and repair their reputation in Iraq’s Sunni heartland.