Baghdad (NINA)- Main topics of coverage on Tuesday's daily press were the intended provincial council elections, developments of Nineveh security operations and the release of detainees at the US custody in Iraq.

Provincial elections
Azzaman wrote that Head of the Iraqi National Slate former Premier Ayad Allawi is scheduled to meet Tuesday the Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Mousa in Cairo to discuss the role that the AL could assume in "ensuring the integrity of the forthcoming provincial councils' elections." The paper quoted the National Slate's member Usama al-Nijeifi, who is accompanying Allawi to Cairo, as saying that the INS would make contacts with international parties for the same end, calling them to send supervisors to monitor the elections in Iraq's provinces. Over an expected reconciliation conference, Iraqi political factions intend to hold next June in Cairo, Nijeifi said the idea of holding such a conference is "reasonable and needed to overcome the several differences among political parties and figures over basic and fundamental issues." The Arab League can represent "an acceptable mediator to resolve problems that hinders the development of political process in Iraq," said Nijeifi.

Nineveh operations
Regarding the ongoing military campaign to pursue Qaeda elements and gunmen groups in Nineveh province since May 10, al-Mada quoted the minister of interior as announcing that early this week security forces launched the widest raid in the province since the operations started, resulting in capturing 60% of the security wanted individuals.

Al-Umma al-Iraqiya newspaper said that head of Nineveh provincial council has announced forming 14 police and army regiments to assume the task of maintaining security in the province after the conclusion of the military operations. The newly formed forces will act as a substitute to the troops that are currently present to conduct the operations in Nineveh, the paper quoted the provincial official as saying.

Detainees' release
Under the headline "Iraqi-US agreement to release thousands of Iraqi detainees," Al-Mu'tamar quoted head of the parliament's reconciliation committee as revealing that an agreement was reached with the US parties in charge of the detention facilities in Iraq to release thousands of Iraqi detainees at the US army's custody, and that the agreement was put into effect as from last Monday and scheduled to include thousands of detainees -who have not been convicted- by next October 1st. the agreement followed negotiations that lasted for the last six months, according to al-Mu'tamar. /End/