Iraq Makes Sweeping Arrests Over Baghdad Blasts

Iraq Makes Sweeping Arrests Over Baghdad Blasts
By JOHN LELAND
Copyright by The Associated Press
Published: October 29, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/world/middleeast/30iraq.html?ref=global-home


BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi officials said on Thursday they had arrested 61 army and police officers in connection with the bombings in central Baghdad on Sunday that killed 155 people and wounded hundreds more.

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The attacks, in which suicide bombers were seen on film passing through numerous security checkpoints before detonating their vehicles in front of three government buildings, prompted angry criticism and accusations of corruption among the officers manning the checkpoints.

Maj. General Qassim Atta, who announced the arrests, did not say whether the officers were accused of complicity in the attacks or negligence in preventing them.

Those arrested included the chief and commander of the police station nearest to the bombing, as well as officers in adjoining neighborhoods.

Since the bombings, which were the deadliest coordinated attack since 2007, numerous officials, including the governor of Baghdad, have called for the resignation of the interior minister and operations commander, blaming their negligence for insecurity in the capital.