IRAQ GROK Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Iraqi Police Recover $1.3 Million From Bank Heist [May 30]
“Police investigating a bank robbery near Najaf in southern Iraq have recovered $1.3 million of the $5.5 million stolen and made one arrest, a local official said on Sunday. The theft on Thursday evening was the second major Iraqi heist this week, coming just two days after masked gunmen swooped on jewellers in Baghdad in a rampage that left nine dead, including a policeman and one of the assailants. “We found 1.5 billion Iraqi dinars ($1.3 million) buried near the house of one of the criminals involved in the Meshkhab operation,” said Luay Yassiri, the head of Najaf provincial council’s security committee. Yassiri added that police had arrested a man in connection with the robbery at state-owned Rafidain bank’s branch at Meshkhab, south of Najaf city, out of six suspected gang members who took part. The robbery took place after one of the guards at the branch put sleep-inducing drugs into the other guards’ tea and let in the gang, who then entered the bank’s safe and took the money, Yassiri said..” [Complete Report]
US Saves War Memorials in Iraq [May 30]
“In words etched in stone, painted on concrete barriers, scribbled on hospital walls with magic markers, American troops in Iraq have followed a tradition as old as war itself: honoring their dead. Now, as the United States prepares to dramatically decrease its military presence in Iraq this summer, American commanders are trying to decide what to do with the vast collection of plaques, street signs, and painted concrete barriers dedicated to the men and women who shed their blood in this desert country. In the Vietnam War, units brought home their memorabilia and memorials when they rotated out of the country. When the U.S. closed down bases around Germany at the end of the Cold War, the memorabilia was also preserved. Now, it’s Iraq’s turn. But preserving some of the memorials could prove a difficult task..” [Complete Report]
