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Iraqi Officers Behind $4.8M Bank Heist

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 2, 2009 6:15 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Iraqi robbers who killed eight security guards and stole $4.8 million from a Baghdad bank this week were army officers, not insurgents, the Los Angeles Times reports. Iraqi police revealed today the arrest of four elite officers assigned to guard Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi. "It was a genuine test" of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a lawmaker said. "It is clear that everyone is subject to the law."

The arrests further fueled the notion that political factions can be as deadly as militants in today's Iraq. With elections set for January, even Friday's bombings, which killed 29, may not be the work of extremists: "You can't say every attack is Al Qaeda or the Baathists," one analyst said. "There is quite a connection between these attacks and political reasons. Some people inside the system don't want stability in the Iraqi state."

Iraqi police load victims killed in a bank robbery into a truck in central Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, July 28, 2009.
Iraqi police load victims killed in a bank robbery into a truck in central Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, July 28, 2009.   (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A Iraqi Army soldier patrols the centre of Basra ahead of the provincial elections being held on Saturday on January 29, 2009 in Basra, Iraq.
A Iraqi Army soldier patrols the centre of Basra ahead of the provincial elections being held on Saturday on January 29, 2009 in Basra, Iraq.   (Getty Images)
A Iraqi Army vehicle patrols the centre of Basra ahead of the provincial elections being held on Saturday on January 29, 2009 in Basra, Iraq.
A Iraqi Army vehicle patrols the centre of Basra ahead of the provincial elections being held on Saturday on January 29, 2009 in Basra, Iraq.   (Getty Images)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announces at AED a dramatic new initiative to modernize Iraq's higher education system.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announces at AED a dramatic new initiative to modernize Iraq's higher education system.   (PRNewsFoto/Academy for Educational Development)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 5 comments
justme
Aug 3, 2009 3:55 AM CDT
Did anyone notice that the Iraqi police handled the arrest and the Iraqi courts take over from here? No nation is without criminals, certainly not the US. How they are dealt with is the benchmark defining whether a government works or doesn't. In Russia, and lots of other countries the officers would have been shielded by politicians.
Shannonals
Aug 3, 2009 3:22 AM CDT
Bank heist?! First I've heard of this happening
DeniseVB
Aug 2, 2009 11:53 AM CDT
So, we're going to turn the country over to the Iraqi's soon ?

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