5 al-Qaeda gunmen arrested in Diala

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: Police forces on Friday arrested five al-Qaeda gunmen suspected of killing a chieftain in Diala, a security source said. “Policemen waged a security operation in the wee small hours of the morning in al-Tahrir neighborhood in central Baaquba, where they arrested five al-Qaeda gunmen from the same family,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “The detainees believed to be involved in planning for killing the chief of the al-Karkhiya tribe Thaer al-Karkhi, who was the head of Kanaan support council, and two of his family,” the source added. Diala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites, extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala’s main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East. In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007. SH (S) 1