Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

   BAGHDAD, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- British and Iraqi forces stormed one of main police stations in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Monday and transferred dozens of detainees, a local police source and a witness said.

An explosion destroys the Al Jameat Police Station in Basra, south of Baghdad, Dec. 25, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

"British and Iraqi forces raided the building of the Iraqi Major Crimes Unit in Basra in the early hours of this morning," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

   The source said that the operation came as British forces received information that Iraqi police officers in the unit have been conducting atrocities against prisoners.

   More than 1,000 British troops demolished the building with explosives.

   "There were dozens of prisoners who have been secured and moved to an alternative Iraqi detention facility," the source said.

   British troops also seized hundreds of documents, the source said.

   "Many people complained of maltreatment conducted by police officers inside the office," the source said. "Police are also accused of kidnapping and killing individuals in the city."

   A witness, anonymously, told Xinhua by telephone that the unit is controlled by Sadr movement, led by Shiite radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and Fadhila Shiite party. Both are parts of the United Iraqi Alliance, a leading Shiite bloc in the Iraqi parliament and the government.

[1] [2] [3] [4]