The Interior Ministry in Baghdad Sunday made an apology to Iraqis for involvement in oppressive acts in the era of the late dictator Saddam Hussein, dpa reported.
The apology is the first by a state institution in Iraq since Hussein was executed in 2006. The ministry made the apology one day before the Iraqi police are to mark their 90th anniversary.
"The security forces apologize for getting implicated in the practices of the former regime," the ministry said in a statement.
It vowed to enforce the law and protect the people's lives and property "without being subjected to political orientation."