Reply #20: Hundreds of Iraqi police poisoned

[CHIMO]

Hundreds of Iraqi policemen have been taken ill at a base in southern Iraq after the evening meal breaking their daily Ramadan fast.

Some of the policemen began bleeding from the ears and nose after the meal, said Jassim al-Atwan, an inspector for the environment ministry, who was serving as a liaison in the investigation between the health ministry and the base, located in the town of Numaniyah.

Between 600-700 policemen were affected to varying degrees, and 11 who had the heaviest amount of the food had died, al-Atwan told AP.

Some of the soldiers collapsed as soon as they stood up from them meal, others fell "one after the other" as they headed out to the yard in the base to line up in formation, al-Atwan said.

The division normally operates around the town of Salman Pak on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad - an area of intense Shia-Sunni killings. The division was sent to the base in Numaniyah, 80km southeast of the capital, for further training.

Agencies

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/40357038-929D-4DCF-9BD7-599C1A8D0079.htm