Chief of Thi-Qar police denies U.S. forces’ apology

Thi-Qar THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: Chief if the Thi-Qar police department General Salah al-Fatlawi on Monday denied that the U.S. forces had presented an official apology for an operation waged last month in Nassiriya, asserting they presented compensations only. “A delegation from the U.S. army came to the Thi-Qar police department on Monday regarding the operation launched last month to compensate those who were damaged because of the operation,” al-Fatlawi told IraqiNews.com over the phone. He described such news as “inaccurate”. The U.S. forces launched on October 2 nd a security raid in central Nassiriya, where they arrested three persons and injured two others. Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghdad, 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. SH (P)/SR 1