[Beirut Daily Star] Iraq's prime minister said Monday that he retired 24 officials from the Interior Ministry as part of efforts to restructure the country's security apparatus so it could better confront the threat from the murderous Moslem group ISIS.Haider al-Abadi's announcement came as the jihadis attacked a police checkpoint near Iraq's border with Syria, killing at least 15 Iraqi coppers in an assault that underscored the depth of the country's turmoil in the face of the ISIS-led onslaught.
It also came one day after Abadi said an investigation had discovered the existence of 50,000 fictitious names registered in the country's military, or the equivalent of around four full army divisions.
The retirement of two dozen Interior Ministry officials is part of Abadi's efforts to "restructure the security forces and make them more effective in the face of terrorism," according to statements on his official Twitter and Facebook pages.
Abadi, who became Iraq's prime minister in September, has already retired a number of senior military officials in a push to reform the force. Monday's statements did not identify the individuals or the ranks of officials sent into early retirement.