Two Senior Security Officers Arrested In Diyala

Source: BBC

In the latest bad news for Diyala’s security forces, a general who was the security adviser to Diyala’s governor, the governor’s bodyguard, and the head of security at the provincial council offices were all arrested in their homes in Muqtadiya on October 3, 2010. They were detained by the Counter Terrorism Force from Baghdad. The raid came as a result of intelligence about an impending attack upon the council building in the governorate’s capital Baquba.

In previous months other members of the province’s security forces have been arrested for alleged ties to insurgents. In May the police chief for Diyala complained that too many of his men were recruited quickly without proper vetting, which led to infiltration by militants. That process was leading to the arrest of several officers. On June 1, for example, 39 policemen were arrested for involvement in a bombing on May 21 that killed 30 and wounded another 80. Later in that month several more policemen were arrested for allegedly passing on intelligence to Al Qaeda, along with a member of a district council who was found with explosives in his house. Now the bad apples in the security forces have moved up to a general and two others, who were working directly with the governor of the province. With supporters that high up in the hierarchy, it’s no wonder that Diyala remains one of the more violent areas of the country.

SOURCES

Ahmed, Hamid, “Iraqi official found with TNT, charged with terror,” Associated Press, 6/15/10

AK News, “Diyala: “Joint security force arrests head of Saadiyah local council,”” 6/15/10

Aswat al-Iraq, "3 security officers arrested in Diala," 10/3/10

Mohammed, Muhanad, “Iraqi security officials arrested over plot,” Reuters, 10/3/10