Iraq issues arrest warrant for Hashemi

Iraq's judiciary has issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi over his involvement in the assassination of Iraqi officials. The arrest warrant was issued on Monday after Hashemi's bodyguards confessed that they had assassinated several Iraqi officials and army generals over the past years on his order. The warrant was issued under anti-terror laws. According to the bodyguards, a number of army generals, military officials, policemen, a health ministry official and a foreign ministry official were among the victims. They said they received USD 3,000 for each mission. They also said that Hashemi had threatened to kill them and their families if they refused to continue. Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, the highest office in the country's judicial system, has recently formed a five-member panel to investigate the charges of terrorism against Hashimi's guards. Earlier on Monday, the committee barred Hashemi from leaving the country. At least 13 of Hashemi's bodyguards have been arrested in recent weeks. Hashemi is currently in the autonomous Kurdish region's capital, Arbil, for a meeting with President Jalal Talabani. On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked parliament to relieve his deputy Saleh al-Mutlak from his duties over alleged involvement in acts of violence. The latest events come after the Iraqiya bloc of Hashemi and Mutlak pulled out of parliament in protest over what it described as Maliki's monopolizing of power. Lawmakers are due to consider the request on January 3, a parliament official said. Iraqiya, headed by Ayad Allawi, holds 82 seats in the 325-member parliament and controls nine ministerial posts.