6 wanted on criminal, “terrorist” charges arrested in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Policemen arrested six men wanted on criminal and “terrorist” charges and seized medium arms and rifles in different areas of Basra on Sunday, the province’s police media office said. “Two BKC rifles, one RPG launcher and munitions in the area of Umm Eneij, (100 km), north of Basra,” the office told IraqiNews.com, not indicating the amount of the munitions. “A stolen vehicle was seized in the possession of one of the suspects in al-Hadi neighborhood, (8 km) north of Basra,” it added. Security authorities conduct search raids in different areas of Basra to track down “wanted” persons and seize weapons in light of confrontations that broke out during the last week of March 2008 between security forces and groups believed to belong to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militias. The clashes followed an announcement to carry out Operation Saulat al-Forsan (Knights’ Assault) in late March. Sadr’s bloc has 30 out of a total 275 seats in the Iraqi parliament. Basra, 590 km (340 miles) south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has an estimated metropolitan population of 2,300,000 in 2008. Basra , a Shiite province with 20% of the population are Sunnis, is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. It hosts Iraq’s seven main ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history. The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city’s oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd). AmR (S)/SR 1