5 wanted men nabbed near Samarra

SALAH AL-DIN / IraqiNews.com: Five wanted persons on Sunday were arrested with weapons and explosive charges in their possession near Samarra city, a National Police source said. “National Police forces raided a deserted house in al-Jazeera area (35 km west of Samarra), following intelligence reports about the presence of five al-Qaeda members who are wanted by the security apparatus,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “Large amounts of arms, explosive charges and ammunition were found during the raid,” the source added. Salah al-Din has an area of 24,751 square kilometers (9,556.4 sq mi). The estimated population for 2003 was 2,146,500 people. Located in Central Iraq, north of Baghdad, it is a mainly Sunni province with only two Shiite districts, namely Balad and al-Dujail. Its capital city is Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. It also includes other important districts like Baiji, north of Tikrit, 175 km north of Baghdad. The province also contains the significantly larger city of Samarra. Before 1976 the province was part of the governorate of Baghdad. It is named after Saladin (written Salah ah Din in modern Arabic), an ethnic Kurd and hero of the 12th century. Salahuddin province is a variant version of the province’s name. SS (P) 1