Diala’s Abi Sayda district chief arrested

DIALA, Sept. 19 (Iraqi News) – Iraqi-U.S. security forces arrested on Friday a district chief in Diala province and one of his escorts during a search raid on his house, a security source said. “A joint Iraqi-U.S. force on Friday captured Abi Sayda district chief, al-Muqdadiya city, (45 km) northeast of Baaquba, and an escort during a search raid that targeted his home in central Abi Sayda,” the source, who asked not to be named, told IraqiNews.com – Voices of Iraq – (Iraqi News). The source did not give more details on the incident. 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). 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. Later on, the Iraqi security forces had launched a wide-scale security campaign in Diala province. The operation, codenamed Bashaer al-Kheir (Promise of Good), is aimed at tracking down members of al-Qaeda network in Diala, Iraq’s most restive city, after the armed group lost its strongholds in the western Iraq predominantly Sunni province of al-Anbar, where tribesmen fought its members and flushed them out of the city. 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.   AmR (S) 1