Former army officer arrested, two relatives injured in Diwaniya

DIWANIYA / IraqiNews.com: Joint Iraqi-U.S. forces on Wednesday arrested an officer of the former Iraqi army and injured two of his relatives in north of Diwaniya, a police source said. “Joint Iraqi-U.S. forces raided at dawn the house of an office of the former Iraqi army in north of Diwaniya city,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “The forces arrested the officer and injured two of his relatives during a shootout,” he added. No word was immediately available from the U.S. army on the incident. Diwaniya, a Shiite province, lies 180 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. In 2002, the population of Diwaniya was estimated at 420,000. The area around the province, which is well irrigated from the nearby Euphrates River, is often considered to be one of the most fertile parts of Iraq, and is heavily cultivated. The town is located on the main rail transport corridor between Baghdad and Basra. For birdwatchers, Diwaniya is a city with a rich bird list, as it has a wide range of biodiversity. SH (P) 1