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'Mafia-like gangs' ready to join interior ministry
By Basil Adas

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Baghdad, 05 March 2007 (Gulf News)
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In a controversial move more than 132,000 "Installation Guard" police members in Baghdad will finally join the Iraqi Interior Ministry after being under the responsibility of the ministries they are guarding and protecting for four continuous years.

Mezhir Razaqi, an Iraqi employee in an establishment affiliated to the Iraqi Ministry of Industry, told Gulf News: "The General Director in this bureau fears the guards, therefore his choices are limited."

Saham, an employee in the same establishment told Gulf News: "Calling the guards 'militias' does not describe all they do. They practice any felonious act, such as abduction, assassination and punching employees at the main entrance, they even impose taxes in forms of money or gifts. They are doing these acts on a large scale."

Accusations

There are widespread accusations against guards of forming mafia-like gangs and involvement in criminal acts for the benefit of terrorist militias.

"More than 40 per cent of Installation Guards are bogus who receive salaries without doing anything. Some of them are involved in terrorist operations, smuggling and looting resources themselves. They are essentially part of the financial and administrative corruption campaign in the country," Hassan Sari, an Iraqi state minister, told Gulf News.

"I am ready to testify against the guards who burgled a store's contents, valued at 150 million Iraqi dinars, in large vehicles. The warehouse and establishment's guards along with big names in the ministry are responsible for this extensive robbery," Salah, an employee in an enterprise affiliated to the Iraqi Ministry of Trade, revealed to Gulf News.

It has become imperative for any establishment to hire large numbers of security guards, due to the deterioration of the security situation in Baghdad.

Despite some measures taken by Nouri Al Maliki's government concerning the guards' violations, American and Iraqi forces have been arresting many of them for having suspected links to terrorist activities or for their involvement in direct assassinations.