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| Iraq |
| Freed British hostage 'held in Iran' |
| 2009-12-31 |
| A British computer expert and his four bodyguards kidnapped in Iraq in 2007 were seized in an operation masterminded by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and were held in Iran, media reported Thursday. Peter Moore was released unharmed Wednesday after an "unspeakable" two-and-a-half year kidnap ordeal during which at least three of the bodyguards died. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his government hailed Moore's release, which it said was due to improved reconciliation in the violence-scarred country. But there is speculation a deal has been done as it emerged the leader of the group which took Moore from a government building in Baghdad was being transferred from US to Iraqi custody. The Guardian newspaper reported that the Revolutionary Guard led the operation and took the five to Iran within a day of their abduction. The BBC also quoted the US's former commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, as saying he was "90 percent certain" that the group was held in Iran for part of their time in capitivity. Petraeus was quoted telling a correspondent earlier this month: "I'm absolutely certain. I'm 90 percent certain" when asked if they were taken to Iran, adding: "I'm pretty sure I've seen hard intelligence on it." Moore was targeted because he was installing a computer tracking system that would show how vast amounts of international aid money to Iraqi institutions was diverted to Iran's militia groups in Iraq, according to the Guardian. A former unnamed Revolutionary Guard said the five were held in two camps including one known as Qasser Shiereen close to the Iraqi border. "It was an Iranian kidnap, led by the Revolutionary Guard, carried out by the Al-Quds brigade," he was quoted saying on the paper's website. "My contact works for Al-Quds. He took part in the planning of the kidnap and he watched the kidnapping as it was taking place. He told me that they spent two days at the Qasser Shiereen camp. "They then took them deep inside Iran." An unnamed Iraqi government minister reportedly backed up the claims. "This was an IRG (Iranian Revolutionary Guard) operation," he said. Britain's Foreign Office told the paper: "We have no evidence that the British hostages, including Peter Moore, were held in Iran. "We are not in a position to say with any certainty where they were held during each and every single day of their two-and-a-half years in captivity." The US confirmed Thursday that the leader of the group behind the kidnapping was being transferred to Iraqi custody, amid speculation, denied by Britain, that a deal was done to secure Moore's release. "The United States has complied with an Iraqi government request in accordance with the US-Iraqi Security Agreement and the rule of law to transfer AAH (Asaib al-Haq) members, to include Qais al-Khazaali, from US custody to Iraqi custody pursuant to an Iraqi arrest warrant," the US spokesman said. Although it was not immediately clear if Khazaali was still in US custody, the BBC reported that he had been handed over "very recently", citing a senior British government official. Moore had thought he was about to be shot shortly before being set free, his family told British media. "He did think he was going to get a bullet in the head. He was very frightened. He thought he was going to be killed. Then he realised he was to be released," his stepmother Pauline Sweeney said. Meanwhile, Moore's father Graeme, who he has not seen for 15 years, told the Times that efforts to free the group, which were kept low-profile throughout their ordeal, had been botched. "If they had done it properly, all five would be walking out of there," he said. |
| Posted by:ed |