Two Iraqi police officers arrested for plotting attacks

May 17, 2009, 7:04 GMT

Baghdad - Iraqi security forces have arrested two police officers on charges of plotting attacks that killed 28 people, a newspaper report quoting a senior Interior Ministry official said Sunday.

The first officer was assigned to protect 'vital installations' in Iraq by the Ministry of Commerce, General Ahmed Abu Raghif, director of home affairs and security in the Iraqi Interior Ministry, told Baghdad's al-Sabbah newspaper.

The officer 'turned out to be the so-called 'Emir' of the Islamic Army in Iraq,' a primarily Sunni militant group, Abu Raghif said.

A second officer, assigned to protect the Ministry of Industry, was also arrested, the general said.

The two are accused of helping to plan and execute attacks that killed 28 people, mostly Iraqi soldiers and police.

The Islamic Army in Iraq was formed in 2003, after the US-led invasion of the country. The group has since claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks and has abducted foreigners, including French journalists and an Iranian diplomat.

While those captives were released unharmed, the group has also released video or photographic records of its members executing other captives, including an Italian journalist, and Macedonian and Pakistani contractors.

The group also gained notoriety for distributing videos of 'Juba, the Baghdad Sniper' killing foreign soldiers in Iraq.