 Macedonia said on Tuesday it would send a diplomatic team to Qatar to probe a militant group's reported claims that two Macedonians had been executed as US spies in Iraq, officials said. "We have neither official confirmation nor denial about the two killed Macedonians in Iraq," a government spokesman told AFP.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported on Monday that an armed group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq had executed two unnamed Macedonians for allegedly spying on behalf of the US. It aired footage it said came from the Islamic Army, showing two men and their identity cards with the group's banner in the background. Macedonian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dusko Uzunovski said a group of officials led by Deputy Foreign Minister Fuad Hasanovic would meet representatives from Al Jazeera in Qatar to discuss the report. Local media have reported that the two victims are Zoran Nasovski and Dalibor Lazarevski, who were among three Macedonians who disappeared in Iraq in August. They had told their families they were going to Iraq to work for a US construction firm. Uzunovski said another 22 Macedonians working with the construction company were expected to return to Macedonia yesterday. Macedonia is a member of the US-led coalition in Iraq and has contributed about 30 soldiers. |