Iraqi security arrests 404 terrorists, drug dealers within a week

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency (FIIA) announced on Saturday that its officers had arrested 404 terrorists and drug dealers within a week, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

A statement issued by the FIIA clarified that 86 terrorists and 318 drug dealers were arrested last week.

The FIIA also announced that 998 suspects involved in different crimes were arrested. Additionally, 126 different weapons and 12 improvised explosive devices were seized.

In relation to the protests taking place in Iraq, the Iraqi Presidency stated on Saturday that there is an attempt to show Iraq as an unsafe country for foreign missions, calling on international organizations and Western governments to stop incitement and hatred practices.

The Iraqi Presidency mentioned in a statement that it condemns the attacks on the Holy Quran and provoking the feelings of Muslims, calling on Iraqi citizens and political forces to be careful and not be drawn into a strife that is being provoked by figures or parties living in Western countries.

Iraqi protesters set fire to the Swedish embassy in Baghdad early Thursday ahead of a planned burning of a Quran in Sweden, AFP reported.

Swedish authorities approved an assembly to be held later outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where organizers plan to burn a copy of the Quran as well as an Iraqi flag, AFP added.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, during a phone call with his Swedish counterpart, stressed the need to prevent the recurrence of acts offensive to Islam and the Holy Quran, according to INA.

On June 28, a 37-year-old refugee of Iraqi origin in Sweden tore up and burned several pages of a copy of the Holy Book outside Stockholm’s central mosque after the Swedish police granted him permission to do so, according to a judicial decision.