DIWANIYA (Iraq), Dec 15: A former police chief in southern Iraq has been arrested and accused of assisting insurgents, police said on Saturday.

Brigadier-General Abdul-Khaliq al-Bderi was fired from his post as provincial police chief for Diwaniya in July this year after regional authorities voted him out at a time when the city was beset by assassinations and clashes.

Police said he was arrested on Friday, with a colonel in charge of police foot patrols in the province who was also accused of aiding insurgents. Diwaniya, in the mainly Shia south of Iraq, has been the scene of conflict among Shia factions and saw several clashes between militia members and US forces in the first half of this year.—Reuters