24 detainees released in Diala

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: A total of 24 detainees have been released by the Diala police command after they were found innocent of any wrongdoing, a local police source said on Saturday. “Today, Diala police command released 24 detainees, including 19 who were held in Basra’s Bucca prison and five in Diala’s jails after they had been cleared of all charges against them,” the source told IraqiNews.com. Diala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites, extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala’s main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East. In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007. SS (S) 1