AL-MADAEN, Iraq, March 27, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Arbitrary arrests and pre-dawn house-to-house raids have cast a pall over the picturesque Iraqi town of Al-Madaen, southeast of Baghdad, with locals fearing that the aggressive tactics were a prelude for "another Fallujah."

"I fear that we will meet the same fate as our brothers and sisters in Fallujah," a terrified woman told IslamOnline.net Monday, March 27, requesting anonymity.

Scores of people have been detained by Iraqi security forces, backed by US troops, during crackdown operations in the city since the February bombing of the Shiite shrine of Imam Ali Al-Hadi in Samarra.

Up to 450 civilians, mostly Sunnis, were killed and 81 Sunni mosques targeted, including eight completely destroyed, in reprisal attacks triggered by the bombing of the celebrated Shiite shrine.

The continued crackdowns and arrests have also turned Al-Maden into a ghost city, with shops and markets forced to close down.

Fallujah, which used to be a resistance hub, was the scene of one of the bloodiest US raids since the start of the US-led invasion-turned-occupation in March 2003. The November 2004 operation left at least 700 people killed, including children and women, and thousands injured.

A photo of the ancient Taq-I Kasra.

Residents furthers said threats by self-styled and sometimes government-sanctioned Shiite militias have added insult to injury.

They accused the militias of sending many locals into panicky flight on the heels of the Samarra bombing, which was strongly condemned by Sunni leaders.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said on Saturday, March 25, that militias, many with strong ties to powerful Shiite leaders and well entrenched in security and police forces, are killing more Iraqis than "terrorists," urging Iraqi leaders to rein them in.

An attack on a police station, which left four police officers killed, also fueled tension in the city.

Gunmen blasted the police station with grenade and mortar fire on Wednesday, March 22.

Following the assault, the Iraqi police randomly detained about 70 people.

Last April, the town of Al-Madaen came under a joint US-Iraqi attack on claims of rescuing Shiites reportedly taken hostage by militants holing up in the town.

A 1,500-strong Iraqi force backed by US troops moved into the town without resistance, finding its streets deserted, shops shuttered and most of its 7,000 residents hiding inside their homes.

No hostages had been found and the hostage crisis turned out to be a hoax.

Tension has also escalated after Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army controlled the "Salman Al-Farisi" mosque, run by the Sunni Wakfs Authority.

Seeking the return of the prayer place, a cohort of dignitaries met with Adnan al-Dualism, leader of the National Concord Front, to seek his intervention to resolve the standoff.

Sunni calls on the Shiite militiamen to leave the mosque have fallen on deaf ears.

Located approximately 20 miles southeast of the city of Baghdad, Al-Maden was the last bastion falling to the Muslim army under Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab and Commander Sa’ad Ibn Abi-Waqqas in the famous 637 Al-Qadisya Battle.

The battle led to the Islamic conquest of Persia, which was then ruled by the Magus.

The breathtaking Taq-i Kasra is now all that remains of a magnificent palace that was, for seven centuries, the main seat for the successive dynasties of the Achaemenids, Parthians and Sasanians.

The Throne room was more than 110 ft high. The massive barrel vault covered an area 80ft wide by 160 ft long.

Al-Maden is also the burial ground for several companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), chiefly Al-Farisi.