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Iran fires artillery into Iraq, captures 7 border guards
BAGHDAD Iran has shelled Iraq and captured seven of its soldiers in an escalation of ongoing skirmishes.Iraqi officials said the Iran Army fired artillery shells into Iraq last week and captured seven soldiers northeast of Baghdad. This was the most serious incident between Iran and Iraq in 2006. Last year, Iraq reported Iranian Navy clashes with Iraqi patrols. On Saturday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry reported the Iranian capture of seven members of an Iraqi border patrol. The ministry said the Iraqis were detained while they were stationed at the Hankin border terminal near Haila. The ministry said an investigation has been launched. In August, Kurdish officials in Iraq said the Iran Army shelled suspected insurgency strongholds in northern Iraq. Iran has acknowledged fighting along the border. The state-owned Iranian news agency Irna said on Sept. 7 that Iran captured seven Iraqi soldiers who crossed into Iran's Ilam province. "The reason for their infiltration is under investigation," Irna quoted an Iranian security source as saying. But Iraqi officials later said Iran provoked the clashes by firing artillery shells into Iraq on Sept. 6. They reported artillery strikes near the Iraqi town of Mandali, 100 kilometers from Baghdad. On Sept. 7, officials said, an Iraqi border patrol spotted an Iranian outpost in Iraqi territory. A clash ensued and the seven Iraqi soldiers were captured and taken into Iran, they said. The fighting came on the eve of a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to Teheran. Al Maliki was to have flown to Iran last week, but the visit was postponed. Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-09-11 |
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