-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: January 11, 2007 3:48:54 PM PST
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Secret US Team --US Officials Unaware of Them-- Attacks
Iranians Inside Iraq
U.S. Troops Stage Second Secret Raid at Iraq Airport
Forces Also Capture Up to Six Iranians at Location Used to Issue
Travel Permits to Iran
By TERRY MCCARTHY
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2007 — - U.S. troops staged two secret
raids in northern Iraq today, ABC News has learned, capturing as
many as six Iranians and only narrowly avoiding a gun battle with
local security forces, according to the Iraqi foreign ministry and
local officials in northern Iraq's Kurdish region.
The Iranian government has made an official complaint to the
government in Baghdad, which the Iraqi Foreign Ministry has relayed
to the U.S. Embassy.
For more on this story and a first look from Baghdad at how U.S.
forces are implementing the new strategy for Iraq, watch "World
News With Charles Gibson" tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET.
In the first raid, the U.S. troops stormed a building that houses
the Iranian liaison office in the northern city of Irbil at 3 a.m.
local time, where they detained at least five Iranians and also
confiscated computers and documents.
A nearby resident told the Associated Press that the troops used
stun bombs in the raid and had helicopters flying overhead as they
went through the two-story yellow house.
In the second raid, staged later in the day, U.S. troops attempted
to abduct more people from inside Irbil airport, but were
surrounded [and driven off] by [pro-American] Kurdish peshmerga
troops.
"This group has come from nowhere," Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar
Zebari told ABC News. "They were unwilling to reveal their identity
and entered the airport, which is a very sensitive area, and there
was a response by the local forces."
Both sides were heavily armed, and shooting very nearly broke out.
"There weren't any casualties, but it was a split second really for
a disaster to happen. This has created a great deal of anxiety,"
said Zebari.
'Delicate Situation'
It is unclear where the U.S. troops came from -- even local U.S.
officials contacted by the Kurdish authorities had no knowledge of
the armed men.
The American military later issued a statement saying it had
detained six people in a raid in Irbil, but did not specify their
nationality or give any other information about the raids.
The raids came within hours of President Bush's speech about future
U.S. policy in Iraq, which included a pledge to "interrupt the flow
of support from Iran" for anti-U.S. forces in Iraq.
Bush went on to say, "We will seek out and destroy the networks
providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."
Last month, U.S. forces in Baghdad detained four Iranians, two of
whom were diplomats.
The liaison office that was raided issues travel permits for Iraqis
traveling to Iran and other consular tasks and is on a waiting list
to be officially declared a consulate. Technically, according to
the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, the Iranians working in the liaison are
not diplomats.
The Iranian foreign ministry has said the raid was "against a
diplomatic mission" and is demanding the release of those who were
abducted.
Neither the central government in Baghdad nor the regional
authorities in Kurdistan had any advance knowledge of the U.S.
raids against the Iranian targets, although the Iraqi government
has long been aware of Iranian support for armed factions inside
Iraq. Zebari said that "we are not questioning or doubting the
credibility, the integrity of our friends in the coalition," but he
said "this is a very delicate situation."
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