32 wanted men arrested in Diala – defense ministry

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Diala operations command on Wednesday arrested 32 wanted men and seized amounts of weapons and ammunitions throughout Diala, the defense ministry said in a statement. “The Diala forces arrested 32 wanted men, defused 10 bombs and found seven weapons caches in separate areas of Diala,” said the statement received by IraqiNews.com. “Two kidnapped persons were freed in al-Hadied region in Diala,” the statement added. 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. SH (P) 1