| Twenty members of the Ansar al-Islam extremist Islamic group who were allegedly planning attacks against US-led coalition forces have been arrested in northern Iraq, a Kurdish official said Thursday. "Twenty members of Ansar al-Islam (Followers of Islam) were arrested between April 14 and 19. Large quantities of arms and explosives were seized from those people who were planning terrorists attacks," said Sarkut Hassan, a security official for Suleimaniya province which is controled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. "The detainees are Kurds from Suleimaniya," he told a press conference, adding that they had planned to attack public institutions and coalition forces. |