97 arrested on criminal, terror charges in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: A total of 97 persons were arrested during a security operation in different parts of Basra province, the media office of Basra’s police said on Wednesday. “On Wednesday, Basra police forces conducted a wide-scale security operation to search for wanted persons in different parts of the province,” the office told IraqiNews.com. “Those arrested are wanted on criminal and terrorism-related charges,” it added. 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 percent of the population are Sunnis, is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. It has the seven main Iraqi ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history. SS (P)/SR 1