Five Iranians freed by U.S. military in Iraq back to Iran
TEHRAN, July 12 (Xinhua) — Five Iranians, including three diplomats, who were freed by the U.S. military after more than twoyears in detention, arrived in Tehran on Sunday, local English-language Press TV reported.
The Iranians arrived in the Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport and were welcomed by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and family members.
"U.S. kidnapping of Iranian diplomats was an inhuman act," Mottaki told reporters in the airport, adding that "we reserve the right to legally follow up this kidnapping case."
On Jan. 11, 2007, the U.S. troops raided the Iranian Liaison Office in Iraq’s Kurdish city of Arbil, capturing five mid-level diplomats inside, two of which were later released, Press TV said.
Two other Iranians kidnapped elsewhere in Iraq by the U.S. troops later joined the three diplomats in detention, said the report.
The U.S. military said the Iranian Liaison Office was used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a local headquarters. However, both Iranian and Kurdish autonomous region officials denied the accusation insisting that the target was a diplomatic mission.
An official Iraqi television reported on Thursday that the five Iranians had been handed over to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s office.
Five Iranians freed by U.S. military in Iraq back to Iran_English_Xinhua
