15 missile launchers seized in Kut

WASSIT / IraqiNews.com: Policemen seized 15 missile launching pads that were hidden in a farm in western Kut city on Saturday, a Wassit police media official said. “The security forces seized the home-made pads along with 10 mortar shells in a farm in the area of al-Mazak, (17 km) western Kut, in a search raid conducted upon intelligence tips,” Othman al-Rubaie told IraqiNews.com. “A number of gunmen were using these pads in their operations to fire in the direction of the Delta military base, (7 km) western Kut, which is taken by the Multi-National Force (MNF) troops as headquarters,” he said. Policemen and bomb squad personnel on Thursday defused 16 Katyusha 107mm. caliber rockets in the district of al-Ahrar, (25 km) western Kut, which were ready for firing at the Delta military base. The Iraqi security forces are getting ready to receive the province’s security responsibilities from the MNF by the end of this month. A Shiite province, Wassit, 180 km south of Baghdad, is in the east of the country. Its name comes from the Arabic word meaning “middle,” as it lies along the Tigris about midway between Baghdad and Basra. Its major cities include the capital, al-Kut, and al-Hayy. Prior to 1976 it was known as Kut Province. AmR (S) 1