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US Forces Release One Iranian Following Raid On Consulate
 US forces on Friday released one Iranian out of the six they detained in a raid on the Iranian consulate in the Kurdish city of Arbil the previous day. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called on the US-led coalition forces to release the other five Iranians, Arab media reported Friday. The Kurdish regional government condemned the US raid. "The attack on a consulate having immunity under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is against the efforts exerted to establish stability all over Iraq," a spokesman said. US forces accompanied by military helicopters stormed the Iranian consulate in Arbil, arresting six Iranian employees and confiscating documents and computers. The US military said in a statement Thursday that the detainees were "suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and coalition forces." "The detainees will be questioned and the seized documents and equipment will be examined to determine the extent of the alleged illegal or terrorist activity," the statement added. Sunni Arabs in Iraq accuse Iran of supporting Shiite militias in the country and of participating with its own fighters in murder campaigns against Sunnis. Posted by: Fred 2007-01-13 |
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