28 wanted men, suspects nabbed in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Nineteen wanted men and nine suspects on Wednesday were arrested during a wide-scale security operation in Basra province, according to the media office of Basra’s police. “During an early hour on Wednesday morning, police forces conducted a wide-scale security operation that covered all parts of Basra province as part of a security plan on the occasion of the 10 th of Muharram (Ashuraa) pilgrimage,” the office told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Nineteen men who are wanted on criminal charges, including four who are believed to have been involved in several murders, in addition to nine suspects, were arrested during the operation,” it explained. “Kalashnikov rifles and pistols were seized during the operation,” it added. Basra, 590 km (340 miles) south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has an estimated metropolitan population of 2,300,000 in 2008. SS (P) 1