Arms, ammo found in Thi-Qar

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: A cache containing weapons and ammunition was found in Thi-Qar and an explosive charge was safely defused in the south of the province, a spokesperson for the local police said on Saturday. “On Saturday, Thi-Qar police forces found a cache of arms and ammunition inside a house that was still under construction in al-Tharamita area (45 km south of Nassiriya),” Maj. Hafiz Hassan Mari told IraqiNews.com. “The cache contained a 60 mm mortar, RPG 7 shells, a PKC machine gun, six rockets, 15 60 mm mortar shells…,” the major noted. Meanwhile, emergency police patrol vehicles found a locally-made improvised explosive device (IED) at the main entrance of Souk al-Shoyoukh district near al-Sheikh Ahmed al-Waili intersection, the source added. Police forces have managed to defuse the device, he explained. Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghad, has an area of 12,900 square kilometers (4,980.7 sq mi). In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1,454,200 people. Thi-Qar was the second Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. The province’s capital is the city of al-Nassiriya. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu. Before 1976 the province was known as al-Muntafiq. SS (S) 1