18 wanted persons arrested, IED defused in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Police forces arrested 18 persons wanted on different charges during search raids all over Basra on Saturday, according to a local police source. “Police forces conducted search raids in different areas of the province, arrested 18 wanted men on various charges,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Criminal Police personnel also defused an improvised explosive device (IED) planted near a beverage plant in central Basra,” he added. The source did not give further details. The oil-rich port city of Basra, Iraq’s only outlet to waterways, lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P) 1