Mayor of al-Dawr, 50 suspected insurgents arrested

An Iraqi soldier stands guard during a raid in al-Dawr today. About 200 suspected insurgents have been arrested during raids over the past two days, Iraqi forces said.

Tikrit, Apr 2, (VOI) - U.S. forces arrested the mayor of al-Dawr city, east of Tikrit, and more than 50 suspected gunmen during the fourth day of the military operations being conducted in the city, a U.S. security source in Salah ad-Din province said on Monday.

"U.S. forces arrested the mayor of al-Dawr city, Othman Abdul Karim, late Sunday, and as many as 50 suspected gunmen within the joint security operation conducted by the U.S. and Iraqi armies in the city, east of Tikrit," Colonel Edmond told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"Reliable intelligence reports confirmed the presence of persons of Arab origin, suspected of having links to al-Qaeda in Iraq armed group in al-Dawr city. This matter led to the operation being undertaken," he added, noting that the operation would continue until the achievement of its goals.

"Some gunmen attacked us, however no one was injured," the colonel also said.

"The U.S. forces' role was to back up the Iraqi forces in the operation," he noted.

Meanwhile, a police source said that U.S. forces imposed a curfew in the city for the fourth consecutive day, preventing even police vehicles from patrolling the city.
The residents are suffering from a severe shortage of medical supplies and baby milk, the source confirmed.

Read the rest at VOI