"We carried out the campaign of raids and searches after the Baghdad attacks, and we arrested 306 men involved in implementing terrorist and criminal attacks against security forces," Major General Fadhel Raddad, police
chief of central Babil province, said at a news conference.
"We received intelligence information after the Baghdad attacks about these groups and we have hit them hard to prevent them from carrying out any more violence."
Raddad said that "most" of the men arrested were wanted on terrorism charges, while others were "supporters" of Wednesday`s attacks in Baghdad, but did not elaborate or provide further details on the link between the men arrested and the violence in the capital.
A "large amount" of weapons and explosive material was also found in the raids, he added, without giving specifics.
The arrests came a day after a series of attacks in the Iraqi capital, including two suicide car bombs minutes apart against police stations, killed 23 people and wounded more than 70.
Despite a decline in violence nationwide since its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common. A total of 185 Iraqis were killed in violence in September, according to official figures. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
