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| Iraq |
| Iran denies link to 2007 kidnap of Britons in Iraq |
| 2010-01-01 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Iran meanwhile denied a British media report that the abduction of a British computer expert in Iraq in 2007 had been masterminded by the elite Revolutionary Guards, television reported. "These claims are baseless," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by al-Alam, a state-controlled Arabic language satellite news channel. "They (claims) emanate from the British anger towards the rallies in which millions of Iranians took part to condemn British interference in (Iran's) internal affairs," he said. Earlier the Guardian newspaper said Peter Moore was released unharmed on Wednesday after an "unspeakable" kidnap ordeal during which his four British bodyguards died or are feared dead. The Guardian, quoting sources, reported that the Revolutionary Guard led the operation and took Moore and his bodyguards to Iran within a day of the kidnap. Britain's Foreign Office said it has "no evidence" to support the reports of an Iranian link. Relations been Tehran and London have been rocky in recent months. A U.S. military spokesman earlier said that the leader of the group behind the 2007 kidnap of the British computer expert is among detainees held by the U.S. military being transferred to Iraqi custody. The confirmation of Qais al-Khazaali's handover to Iraq comes a day after the release of Peter Moore, a 36-year-old IT consultant who was held by Khazaali's League of the Righteous for two and a half years, amid speculation of a deal for Moore's release. Although it was not immediately clear if Khazaali was still in U.S. custody or not, the BBC reported that he had been handed over "very recently", citing a senior British government official. "The United States has complied with an Iraqi government request in accordance with the U.S.-Iraqi Security Agreement and the rule of law to transfer AAH (Asaib al-Haq) members, to include Qais al-Khazaali, from U.S. custody to Iraqi custody pursuant to an Iraqi arrest warrant," the U.S. spokesman said. "This has been occurring over a seven month period." Asaib al-Haq is the Arabic for League of the Righteous. |
| Posted by:Fred |