Iraq arrests 50 over coup plot: security official

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Iraq arrests 50 over coup plot: security official

2 hours ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq has arrested about 50
interior ministry officials for plotting a coup
against the Shiite-led government, a senior Iraqi
security official said on Thursday.

"Fifty interior ministry civil servants, including
senior officials, were arrested over the past
three days for trying to topple the government of
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki," the official told
AFP on condition of anonymity.

Among those seized was General Ahmad Abul Rif,
the ministry's security chief, he said.

"They were linked to the Al-Awda (The Return),
a clandestine group that was working to bring the
Baath Party back into power," he said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gVRF_NY7Q3oU89ZgElcvOR-at4_g

---

Source: Reuters

35 Iraqi officials arrested over coup plot: report
Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:34am EST

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - About 35 officials have been
arrested at Iraq's Interior Ministry, some accused
of planning a coup, the New York Times reported,
citing senior security officials in Baghdad.

The arrests over the past three days were carried
out by an elite counterterrorism force reporting
directly to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the
paper said in its Thursday edition.

Iraqi officials could not confirm nor deny the
report, but Interior Ministry insiders were
skeptical about the likelihood of a coup, a
possibility increasingly raised in recent weeks by
U.S. and Iraqi officials as Maliki consolidates
his leadership.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4BH0NC20081218