not approve of the occupation in any way, even with the understanding that without foreign intervention, there was no guarantee for the safety of the Iraqi people. Perhaps due to its fluctuating disdain for the occupation, the IFTU felt that the United States had a vendetta against them. On December 6, 2003, US forces raided an IFTU-affiliated Transport and Communication Workers' headquarters and arrested eight of its leaders. They detained for one day and released without charge, though the office remained closed until July 2004. Murders, kidnappings, and other attacks IFTU's open support of the January 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election, which would elect a new National Assembly of Iraq to write an updated constitution, made the organization a target for attacks, kidnappings, and murders, mostly from insurgents who supported Saddam Hussein. On November 3, 2004, four railroad workers were killed and mutilated; on December 25, two train engineers were kidnapped and five additional workers were beaten. On January 4, terrorists believed to be part of the disbanded Mukhabarat broke into the house of IFTU international secretary Hadi Saleh and brutally tortured and murdered him. On January 26, IFTU's Mosul president Saady Edan was kidnapped and tortured before being released six days later with the express warning to cease his work with the IFTU. On January 27, Talib Khadim Al Tayee, president of the IFTU-affiliated Mechanics', Metalworkers', and Printworkers' Union, was kidnapped during a meeting with union members. He was released five days later on February 1. On February 11, Moaid Hamed, who worked as the general secretary for IFTU's Mosul branch, was kidnapped as he left his home. He was released 14 days later. On February 18, Ali Hassan Abd (also known as Abu Fahad) was gunned down while walking home with his children from the al-Daura oil refinery where he worked. He was a member of leadership in IFTU's oil union. On February 24, Ahmed Adrid Abbas was also shot and killed. The violence against those affiliated with IFTU did not end after IFTU dissolved; in June 2006, IFTU co-founder Shukry Al Shakhly, was murdered. Merger In September 2005, IFTU announced it was merging with the General Federation of Trade Unions and the General Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions to create a new organization called the General Federation of Iraqi Workers or the Iraqi Workers' Federation. References National federations of trade unions Economy of Iraq Society of Iraq Trade