Five "Arab foreign" fighters who had escaped from Fallujah were arrested near southern Basra, where they were planning to attack military bases and police stations, Iraqi authorities said Thursday.
Basra Police Chief Brig. Mohammed Khazim said the men were stopped late Wednesday at a checkpoint in Qurnah, about some 60 kilometers north of Basra, and "personal weapons" were found in their four-wheel-drive vehicle. According to The AP, the men said they had come from Fallujah.
The captured fighters were identified as Mohammed Faleh and Bassem Faleh, from Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Hassan and Walid Mohammed, from Tunisia, and Mohammed al-Hadi, from Libya, he said.
The men left Fallujah four days ago, traveling to Baghdad for a couple days during which they worked with another group to carry out attacks in the capital.
The men said they were supposed to be assisted by another group that had already infiltrated the Basra, Khazim said.
