BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Twenty-four Iraqi military and security officers accused of conspiring with former Saddam Hussein supporters have been released from jail, according to an official with the Iraq Interior Ministry.
Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani says the recent arrests of 24 officers were politically motivated.
In an interview, Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told CNN's Jill Dougherty on Friday the detentions were politically motivated ahead of the January 31 provincial elections and possibly by foreign interests that want to upset Iraq's growing stability.
Al-Bolani had received information in recent weeks from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office about a terror plot within the ministry. Officials were investigating the alleged plot when government officials seized two dozen officers from the Interior and Defense ministries.
This week, Iraqi security forces seized what officials said were suspected members of the al-Awda party, an underground successor to Saddam Hussein's Baath party. The Baathist movement ruled Iraq for 35 years but was banned after Hussein was overthrown in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
The prime minister's media spokesman said Thursday that the officers are accused of facilitating the activities of former Baathist regime members, outlaws and terrorists.
Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani says the recent arrests of 24 officers were politically motivated.
In an interview, Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told CNN's Jill Dougherty on Friday the detentions were politically motivated ahead of the January 31 provincial elections and possibly by foreign interests that want to upset Iraq's growing stability.
Al-Bolani had received information in recent weeks from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office about a terror plot within the ministry. Officials were investigating the alleged plot when government officials seized two dozen officers from the Interior and Defense ministries.
This week, Iraqi security forces seized what officials said were suspected members of the al-Awda party, an underground successor to Saddam Hussein's Baath party. The Baathist movement ruled Iraq for 35 years but was banned after Hussein was overthrown in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
The prime minister's media spokesman said Thursday that the officers are accused of facilitating the activities of former Baathist regime members, outlaws and terrorists.
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