Monday, October 09, 2006
Hundreds of Iraqi police poisoned
Security
Hundreds of members of an Iraqi police unit fell sick and three died after eating a suspect meal, their commander said, although officials played down the idea of a deliberate poisoning. Colonel Badr al-Ziadi said his men started falling ill immediately after breaking their daylight Ramadan fast on Sunday at the Numaniyah training base in eastern Iraq, and that 60 of them had required hospital treatment. "We are not sure whether there was something in the water or if the food was spoiled," the commander from the 4th police division, a largely Shiite unit answering to the interior ministry, told AFP.
A spokesman for the inerior ministry, Brigadier Abdel-Karim Khalaf, played down the incident, which he said appeared to be caused by food poisoning.This analysis was backed up by the regional governor, Latif al-Tarfah, who confirmed that three officers had died, but also said that an accidental contamination was the most likely explanation. Iraq's police force, which is dominated by Shiite officers, has become a target of choice for Sunni insurgents opposed to the US-backed government and more than 4,000 of them have been killed on duty over the past two years. The rebels' weapons of choice remain, however, car bombs and roadside booby traps, and there have been no prior reports of mass poisonings.
A spokesman for the inerior ministry, Brigadier Abdel-Karim Khalaf, played down the incident, which he said appeared to be caused by food poisoning.This analysis was backed up by the regional governor, Latif al-Tarfah, who confirmed that three officers had died, but also said that an accidental contamination was the most likely explanation. Iraq's police force, which is dominated by Shiite officers, has become a target of choice for Sunni insurgents opposed to the US-backed government and more than 4,000 of them have been killed on duty over the past two years. The rebels' weapons of choice remain, however, car bombs and roadside booby traps, and there have been no prior reports of mass poisonings.
Al-Latif said food and water at the base are provided by an Australian contractor working through Iraqi subcontractors. He did not identify the Australian firm.
