Baghdad curfew ends; bomb plot uncovered

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi and U.S. troops fanned out across the volatile Iraqi capital of Baghdad, enforcing a tough curfew until early Sunday in a tightly packed city living with daily insurgent strikes and Shiite-Sunni sectarian killings.

The clampdown was imposed late Friday by the government because of increased attacks over the past two weeks, the U.S. military said.

It ended at 6 a.m. Sunday (10 p.m. ET Saturday).

As the curfew unfolded, sobering news emerged: the discovery of an alleged bombing plot against Baghdad's seat of power -- the Green Zone, and the arrest of a guard for a prominent Iraqi Sunni Arab leader.

It started as a vehicle and a pedestrian ban, virtually eliminating almost all movement.

But authorities in Iraq on Saturday night announced after 7 p.m. the lifting of the pedestrian ban for a few hours until 11 p.m. Iraqi TV, citing the prime minister's office, said the ban was lifted so people observing Ramadan could go out and pray.

An Iraqi Army spokesman said such a curfew is based on military intelligence and is "a security measure put in place by the Iraqi government and military to thwart any terrorist plans."

A vehicle and pedestrian curfew is fairly unusual, bringing deserted streets and eerie quiet across Baghdad during the day. The last such curfew was imposed more than three months ago.

A regular curfew had been in place nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., but because the Muslim holy month, that curfew was pushed back to begin at 11 p.m., because people normally venture out after sunset during the holy month -- mainly to eat after fasting.

Clashes between armed gunmen and Iraqi police and army troops have occurred in three Baghdad neighborhoods since the sunset Friday, police told CNN. The Iraqi army called for backup from U.S. forces.

The bombing plot was discovered Friday as well.

It was in the final stages of planning when coalition forces arrested one of the planners at the home of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the Iraq Accordance Front, the U.S.-led coalition said. But a military statement on the matter did not make it clear if the plot was still under way.

"The detained individual is suspected of involvement in the planning of a multi-vehicle suicide operation inside Baghdad's International Zone," the name the coalition sometimes uses for the Green Zone, the military said.

A military statement said "credible intelligence" indicated that the detained person, described as a member of al-Dulaimi's "personal security detachment, and seven members of the detained individual's cell were in the final stages" of embarking on car bomb attacks inside the Green Zone that "possibly" involved "suicide vests."

The detainee was believed to be a member of al Qaeda in Iraq and was linked to a car bomb network operating in southern Baghdad, the military said.

The person was detained "without incident," and coalition troops secured "the area without physically entering the residence of Dr. al Dulaimi at any point. They did search the security trailer and the suspect's vehicle."

Al-Dulaimi told CNN that U.S. troops surrounded his Baghdad residence Friday and conducted a search around the house.

He said when he went outside and introduced himself, the military said they were looking for a suspected terrorist. Al-Dulaimi said he did not recognize the name they gave him.

Al-Dulaimi said the U.S. troops used dogs to search around his house, although they did not go inside. He said they detained one of his guards for interrogation.

Other developments

A disabled Iraqi war veteran running for a U.S. House seat in Illinois on Saturday slammed the Bush administration for its handling of Iraq. In the Democratic Party's weekly radio address, Tammy Duckworth, a Illinois National Guard major who is one of several war veterans to enter political life, urged the White House to change its war policies and be more vigilant in overseeing military spending. (Full story)

In his address, President Bush characterized the war against terror as a "long struggle for civilization" and said "our safety depends on the outcome of the battle in Iraq." He said withdrawing from Iraq "would embolden the terrorists," give them sanctuary in the heart of the Middle East and "would help them find new recruits." (Full story)

CNN's Arwa Damon and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report

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