IRAQ: Security forces arrest 34 members of soldiers of heaven

Record ID: 809265

  • Title: IRAQ: Security forces arrest 34 members of soldiers of heaven
  • Date: 19th February 2007
  • Summary: CLOSE OF RANK OF COLONEL ABDUL RAZZAQ/ SHOWING WORD SWAT COLONEL ABDUL RAZZAQ NEAR MAP OF THE CITY OF BABYLON COLONEL ABDUL RAZZAQ SHOWING AREA WHERE THE OPERATION WAS CONDUCTED
  • Embargoed: 6th March 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAE89HEE8PZL0P91AQFHEGWBQVD
  • Story Text: The Iraqi army said on Sunday (February 18) that they had arrested 34 insurgents, known as 'soldiers of heaven' in a search and arrest operation to root out insurgents from the Babylon province, south of Baghdad.
    They said that the operation had started early on February (Friday) 16 as the Iraqi security forces had received information that led successfully to the arrest of terrorists in Toumaziya, al-Muhandiseen and al-Askari towns south of the province of Babylon.
    "The aim of this operation that has been carried out (in Babylon) is to get rid of the terrorist nets that aimed at stirring horror and chaos in the province," said Colonel Ali Abdul Razzaq of the Iraqi army.
    Colonel Abdul Razzaq said that number of documents and weapons have been confiscated during the operation that lasted for two days.
    He said that the operation south of Baghdad came in coincide with the Baghdad security operation 'Imposing the law' that the Iraqi government follow several days ago to curb violence and to put an end to terrorist nets in the country.
    In January 30, Iraq's defence ministry said that 263 militants known as 'soldiers of heaven' from an obscure Shi'ite cult were killed and more than 500 arrested on Sunday in one of the largest battles since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
    Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said Iraqi security forces managed to arrest 502 people including 210 who had been wounded from the battle near the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf.
    The government said the leader of the group, who claimed to be the Mahdi, a messiah-like figure in Islam, was killed. They said his "Soldiers of Heaven" had planned to assassinate top Shi'ite clerics and had to be stopped.
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