Weapons smuggler arrested in Wassit

WASSIT / IraqiNews.com: Police forces on Thursday arrested a weapons smuggler on the Iranian borders in eastern Wassit and found a number of missiles and different weapons in his possession, a senior police officer said. “The forces arrested an Iraq weapons smuggler on the borders with Iran in eastern Wassit while entering the Iraqi territories,” Captain Aziz Latief told IraqiNews.com. “They found 20 mortar shells, 12 bombs and amounts of TNT in his possession,” he added. “The operation was based on intelligence information which indicated that a person smuggles weapons from Iran to Iraq,” he also said, noting that some of the seized weapons are Iranian-made. A Shiite province, Wassit, 180 km south of Baghdad, is in the east of the country. Its name comes from the Arabic word meaning “middle,” as it lies along the Tigris about midway between Baghdad and Basra. Its major cities include the capital, al-Kut, and al-Hayy. Prior to 1976 it was known as Kut Province. SH (P) 1