Joint security center set up in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Work has been completed on a joint security center that is due to be run by Iraqi personnel and the Multi-National Force (MNF). “With the assistance of the Iraqi army, Engineers from the Multi-National Force at Basra International Airport have turned al-Asmaie police station into a joint security center,” an MNF commander told IraqiNews.com. The commander called on residents to report any suspicious activity on hotlines no. 115 and 130. Basra, 590 km (340 miles) south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has an estimated metropolitan population of 2,300,000 in 2008. Basra, a Shiite province with 20% of the population are Sunnis, is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. It has the seven main Iraqi ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history. SS (P) 2