Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

US Military: More Than 500 Iraqi Insurgents Join Reconciliation Process

By VOA News
11 June 2008

The U.S. military says more than 500 insurgents in central Iraq have surrendered their weapons and joined the reconciliation process.

A statement Wednesday reports the surrender began about three weeks ago in the Balad region, northwest of Baghdad.

A U.S. commander in the region, Lieutenant Colonel Bob McCarthy, called this a key step in re-integrating the former insurgents into their communities.

Also today, Iraqi officials say a roadside bomb has killed at least five people and wounded 10 others in a busy area of northern Baghdad.

Security officials say the bomb struck at least one minibus in the mostly Shi'ite Kadhimiya district of the capital.

The U.S. military also says coalition forces detained a suspected Iranian-trained bomb expert in a raid today on his home southeast of Baghdad. A statement says the man is believed to have traveled to Iran several times for explosives training.

In other news, Iraq's ambassador to Iran said a bomb was found in front of his home in Tehran on Tuesday. Mohammad Majid al-Sheikh told media an explosive package was planted by people trying to harm Iraqi-Iranian relations.

However, Iran's official news agency (IRNA) quoted an Iranian Foreign ministry official as saying the package was not a bomb, but was a package containing "normal material".

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ended a three-day visit to Iran on Monday.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.