Baghdad police station closed; 'Policemen there were complacent with local insurgency efforts'

Above: Iraqi National Police hand out supplies in Khadra in November of last year.

Iraqi and U.S. authorities have disbanded an Iraqi police station in a tense west Baghdad neighborhood after it failed to prevent "insurgent and criminal activity" in the area, the U.S. military announced Saturday.

The military said the disbanding of the Khadra police station occurred on Wednesday when officers were given their last pay check and told to report to the central police station for reassignment.

The announcement comes after a string of independent assessments in the United States that point to severe problems with elements of the Iraqi police.

"Improvised explosive devices were often found no more than 100 meters (yards) from Khadra IP checkpoints on main roads throughout the neighborhood," the statement said. "The IP station's inability to decrease crime, led National Police authorities and coalition forces to conclude that the policemen there were complacent with local insurgency efforts."

Khadra is a tense area in western Baghdad where al-Qaida in Iraq is known to be active.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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