2 Iraqi officials detained on corruption charges

BAGHDAD – Two Iraqi election officials say they have been detained after authorities reopened a corruption case against them.

Faraj al-Haidari, chief of Iraq's electoral commission, said by phone Friday he is currently held at a police station after a judge's decision to reinvestigate old corruption charges against the commission.

Commission official Karim al-Tamimi says he was also detained. The two spoke over cell phones to reporters.

Haidari says he believes the detention is retribution for the men's work on the last elections. He says the charges are "baseless and politically motivated."

In 2010 parliamentary election, a Sunni-backed bloc narrowly won the most seats but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki kept his job after managing to form a broader Shiite coalition.