5 arrested for attempting attack on polling center

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: Security forces on Saturday arrested five persons who are believed to have plotted an attack on a polling center in Diala province, according to a local source. “Those arrested in Min al-Din village (10 km south of Mandali district) were trying to launch an attack on a polling center in the area,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. The arrests were made in light of intelligence reports, the source explained. Voters have been heading to polling stations in Baghdad and 13 other Iraqi provinces since 07:00 a.m. Saturday to elect their representatives in the country’s provincial councils amidst tight security measures. A total of 798,202 voters are heading to polling stations in Diala, where 636 candidates are competing for provincial council seats. Over 15 million voters from 14 out of Iraq’s 18 provinces will participate in this election, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). Security personnel, prisoners sentenced to less than five years and hospital inmates cast their votes in the special voting, held on Wednesday (Jan. 28). Mandali district lies 55 km north of Baaquba, the capital city of Diala province, which lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad. SS (S) 1