Deputy PM arrives in Diala, meets officials

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Rafie al-Issawi arrived in Diala province on Monday, leading a government delegation, and held a series of meetings with officials in the province, according to a statement by Issawi’s office. “Issawi expressed the cabinet’s approval to disperse compensations for people harmed by terrorist acts in the villages and towns of the province,” read the statement as received by IraqiNews.com. The Iraqi deputy premier asked officials in Diala to prepare inventories and submit them to the cabinet. “The visit comes in the framework of following up implementation of the service plan launched by the government in several Iraqi provinces,” the statement quoted Issawi as saying. He pointed out that there will be mega strategic mega projects in the sectors of electricity, agriculture and irrigation that should give a shot in the arm for services in the province. Issawi’s delegation comprised Minister of Electricity Kareem Waheed, Minister of Agriculture Ali al-Bahadli, Minister of State for Civil Society Affairs Thamir al-Zubaydi, the chief of Diala reconstruction committee and representatives of service ministries. Issawi had been received by Diala Governor Raad Rasheed Mullah and other senior officials in the province. Diala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites, extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007. Later on, the Iraqi security forces had launched a wide-scale security campaign in Diala province. The operation, codenamed Bashaer al-Kheir (Promise of Good), is aimed at tracking down members of al-Qaeda network in Diala, Iraq’s most restive city, after the armed group lost its strongholds in the western Iraq predominantly Sunni province of al-Anbar, where tribesmen fought its members and flushed them out of the city. A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala’s main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East.   AmR (I) 1