Protesters block main highway

Witnesses say thousands of protesters have demonstrated in Iraq’s western Sunni heartland after the arrest of bodyguards assigned to the finance minister, who draws support from the area. The demonstrators Sunday briefly blocked the main highway near the town of Fallujah linking Baghdad with neighboring Jordan and Syria. It’s the second time in three days that protesters in Anbar province have flocked to the streets. The protesters held banners denouncing what they called the “irresponsible practices” of the Shiite-led government against Sunnis and demanded the immediate release of Sunni Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi’s bodyguards.