Gang in Basra confesses to killing more than 30 civilians

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: A gang, arrested in separate areas of Basra last week, confessed to killing more than 30 civilians, including several women, a security source said on Monday. “Security forces arrested around 11 wanted men in al-Qibla and al-Hussein neighborhoods who form an armed gang to kill civilians,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “The gang confessed to killing more than 30 civilians, including women, barbers and beverages sellers,” he added. “Investigations are still underway with the gang’s elements.” He noted. 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 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. 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). The only Iraqi outlet to the sea, Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock. A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname “The Venice of the Middle East” at least at high tide. The only Iraqi outlet to the sea, Basra has the commercial ports of Iraq.   SH (S)/SR 1