Iraq arrests police in law-and-order crackdown

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Iraq on Monday accused a dozen Shi'ite policemen of murdering minority Sunnis at the height of the sectarian violence that roiled the country.

Separately, a Sunni lawmaker denied carrying out similar sectarian attacks.

The crackdown on police and charges against the legislator come after a strong law-and-order message and a sharp drop in sectarian violence propelled Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and allies to victory in local polls last month.

One of the Sunni Muslims killed by the gang of police officers in a wave of violence over several years was the sister of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul Karim Khalaf said.

"They killed people in broad daylight, in front of everyone, and used police cars to commit their crimes," he said.

Details of the arrests of the police officers emerged a day after the Shi'ite-led government accused Mohammed al-Daini, a member of the Sunni Iraqi National Dialogue Front party, of ordering sectarian and gangland-style slayings.

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