14 wanted men arrested in southern Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 (Iraqi News) – A force from the Iraqi army’s 35 th Brigade’s 9 th Division captured 14 wanted men during two separate security operations in southern Baghdad, a spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) said on Sunday. “Eleven wanted men were arrested and weapons and munitions seized in the village of Abad al-Bahli in al-Madaen, southern Baghdad,” Maj. General Qassem Atta told IraqiNews.com – Voices of Iraq – (Iraqi News). “A force from the 17 th Division defused three improvised explosive devices and seized arms in al-Shanafiya while the 3 rd Brigade of the Iraqi police freed a hostage and arrested her three kidnappers in the area of Bismaya, near al-Nahrawan, southern Baghdad,” Atta added. Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and Baghdad province. With a municipal population estimated at 7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq. It is the second largest city in the Arab world (after Cairo) and the second largest city in southwest Asia (after Tehran). Located on the Tigris River, the city dates back to at least the 8 th century, and probably to pre-Islamic times. Once the center of Dar al-Islam (the abode of Islam), Baghdad has been a center of violent conflict since 2003 because of the ongoing Iraq war. Baghdad’s population is a mix of Sunnis and Shiites. It is mainly divided into two sides: the west (al-Karkh) and the east (al-Rasafa). AmR (S) 1