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The men were described as operatives of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda wing based in Anbar province |
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IRAQ PARADES 39 AL-QAEDA MEMBERS AMID EXECUTION CALLS
December 2, 2010: Iraqi security forces have paraded 39 suspected al-Qaeda members accused of running terrorist operations as the country's interior minister called for them to be executed.
Jawad al-Bolani said that he was confident the men would be found guilty, citing their alleged confessions, documents and video found at their homes that he said showed their earlier attacks and plans to carry out new ones.
He did not say when the men were arrested, but described them as operatives of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda wing based in Iraq's Sunni-dominated western Anbar province.
"Today, we will send those criminals and the investigation results to the courts that will sentence them to death," Mr al-Bolani, a Shiite Muslim, said. "Our demand is not to delay the carrying out of the executions against these criminals so that to deter terrorist and criminal elements."
He hailed the arrests as a "major achievement", indicating Iraq's security forces are improving, adding that the rate of attacks in Iraq had declined tenfold in the past two months.
Among those arrested were Hazim al-Azzawi, a "minister" in the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Ahmed Hussein Ali, ISI's "Mufti of Anbar", and Abdul Razzaq, the organisation's media chief. (Sources: telegraph.co.uk, 02/12/2010)
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