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Leader of al-Qaeda in Diala Jugged
 Iraqi security forces on Monday arrested the leader of al-Qaeda in Diala during a security operation in the province, according to the state-run al-Iraqia satellite television."Security forces arrested Basem al-Safaah, the leader of al-Qaeda in Diala, during a security raid waged within Bashaer al-Kheir (Promise of Good) security operation in the province," the channel quoted a security source as saying. "The man is believed to be involved in killing civilians and displacing families from the province," he added, giving no more details. Diala province extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala's main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East. In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007. Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-08-05 |
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