Nine al-Qaeda suspects arrested in Diyala province (3rd Lead)

Sep 21, 2007, 11:57 GMT

Baghdad - Joint Iraqi-US forces arrested nine gunmen in a bid to eliminate al-Qaeda terrorist network militants in Diyala, while a child was killed by friendly fire in a separate incident in the province, a source said Friday.

Iraqi forces backed by US troops launched a military operation Friday morning in the Hamrin mountains in Muqdadiya which al-Qaeda militants used as a stronghold, independent Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported, citing a provisional security source.

The forces also seized large amounts of weapons and explosives, the source added.

The Hamrin mountains stretch from Diyala's north-eastern borders to some areas in the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region.

The harsh rocky ridge passes by the province of Salahaddin and Kirkuk and Mosul cities, on a parallel line with the mountains on the Iranian side of the border.

Muqdadiya lies 90 kilometres north-east of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces, meanwhile, killed a child when they fired in the air to clear a path near Mustafa Jawwad Square in Baquba, an Iraqi police source told VOI news agency Friday.

Three civilians, including a woman, were also wounded in the friendly fire incident Thursday, the source added.

The same source said that joint Iraqi army-police forces arrested 10 Iraqis suspected of belonging to the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Iraq in a military operation in the village of Abu Tamr, 15 kilometres north of Baquba.

Large amounts of light and medium weapons and ammunition were seized in the operation, the source added.

Also in Diyala province, a US soldier was killed when an explosion occurred near his vehicle, the US military in Iraq reported Friday.

Another soldier was wounded in the attack, which occurred Thursday, and transported to a coalition medical facility for treatment, the statement added.

Separately, a US soldier died Thursday in a non-combat related incident in Kirkuk, the US military said.

Kirkuk is 250 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

In Basra, 550 kilometres south of Baghdad, an armed group opened fire on the convoy of Colonel Nuri al-Mahmdawi killing him and his two guards instantly, and managed to escape, a Basra police source said Friday.

Another armed group attacked an Iraqi military force in north Basra Friday, took a soldier hostage and brought him to an unknown place, the source added.

In another developments also in Basra, MP Abd Ali al-Musawi for the Shiite Islamic Daawa party discussed dismissing Basra's police chief with Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday, a source close to the party said.

Al-Musawi's proposal came after increased assassinations of officials, especially the aides of al-Sistani in the Shiite-dominated city, the source added.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Jabani, one of al-Sistani's representatives in Basra, was killed in the west of the city, the pan-Arab al-Shark al- Awsat newspaper reported.

A second al-Sistani aide, Sheikh Adnan al-Jabani, was injured in the attack.

In the city of Diwaniyah, Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Karim Bashir, a representative of al-Sistani, was killed by unknown assailants, Aswat al-Iraq reported, citing security sources.

In recent days, two other of his aides died in attacks in Basra. A bodyguard was also killed in one of the attacks, the news agency reported.

In Mosul, 450 kilometres north of Baghdad, unidentified gunmen shot dead an Iraqi radio announcer Mohanad al-Obeidi, who works for Dar al-Salam station near a mosque in the Moharebeen neighbourhood and escaped, an Iraqi police source said.

More than 250 Iraqis, who work for the media, have been killed in acts of violence across war-torn Iraq since the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.

In other news, US troops in Iraq arrested a corrupt police chief, on suspicion of committing crimes on behalf of Shiite militias, the US military command in Baghdad reported late Thursday.

Chief Thamir Mohammed al-Hussaini instructed police officers from his unit to arrest Sunnis at roadblocks and is believed to have arrested certain Sunnis on the orders of the Shiite militias, the Mahdi Army and the Badr Brigade, the report said.

Perpetrators often wear police uniforms when they carry out kidnappings and murders in Baghdad. It is not always clear if they are in fact police officers or whether they are extremists who have stolen the uniforms or purchased them on the black market.

The US Army said that al-Hussaini also locked up some Sunnis and demanded ransoms from their families.

He is believed to have instructed his officers to abuse the prisoners to extract confessions from them.

US troops claim to have arrested 11 suspected militia members from within the ranks of the security forces since May.