12, including border guards, arrested on smuggling charges

NINEWA /Iraqi News Twelve persons, including Iraqi border security guards, have been arrested on charges of smuggling goods between Iraq and Syria, a source from the U.S. army said on Saturday. “On Saturday, a joint force has monitored the movement of seven Iraqis who smuggle goods on the Iraqi-Syrian border in western Ninewa,” the source told Iraqi News. A large amount of tobacco has been found in their possession, the source pointed out. “In light of the confessions, five Iraqi border guards have been arrested for helping the smugglers, he added. Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 3