Sixth Iranian 'is being quizzed'

Dubai: A sixth Iranian was detained in Iraq recently and is being questioned, along with five other captured in northern Iraq last January, said an American military officer in Iraq.

Speaking to Gulf News, Major General William B. Caldwell, the US Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Effects and spokesperson for the multi-national forces in Iraq, also announced that they will be handed over to Iraqi authorities "eventually".

Maj Gen Caldwell also said he knew "absolutely nothing" about recent press reports of Israel requesting the United States for permission to fly over Iraq in order to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, suggesting that such a deal could not be reached without Iraqi authorisation.

"Our mandate is from the UN and we'll only operate within our mandate. We have a very clear mandate of what we can or can't do in Iraq at the request of the government of Iraq and that's all we're going to do," he said.

While Maj Gen Caldwell refused to disclose details of detention of the sixth Iranian, he said all six Iranians "eventually will be turned to Iraqi authorities at some point".

The Americans have accused the five Iranians captured from Irbil of being intelligence officers involved in instigating violence, and that they had no "diplomatic credentials". Tehran, on the other hand, said they were diplomats and called for their immediate release.

Chlorine gas

"We know that out of Iran, there are weapons, ammunitions and money that are making their way into Iraq, and Shiite extremist elements are receiving this, and are using it," Maj Gen Caldwell noted, reiterating Washington accusations to Tehran of being involved in the ongoing cycle of violence in Iraq.

But Iran, said the American military official, had no hand in the car bombings in Baghdad, which he described as one of the biggest challenges to security there.

At the same time, he said the insurgents had adopted a new tactic in their bombing campaigns by using chlorine gas as a weapon.

"Their strategy of inducing fear and intimidation hasn't changed, their tactic has changed. In addition to the car bomb they're now going to add the chlorine tank to it," he said, playing down the insurgents' capabilities to cause damage through such bombs.

"It's hard to weaponise chlorine. If the intent is to kill people with it, they're not anywhere near being able to do that. But they can sure create a lot of fear in doing that," he said.

The recently implemented security plan, 'Amaliyyat Fardh Al Qanoon,' (Imposing the Law operation) was a "one 100 per cent Iraqi" operation which aimed to deal with the security situation, particularly booby-trapped cars, he said.

"Today there are over 900 new [road] barriers that were not there 10 days ago, and we still have another 500 to put in... We're literally changing the traffic patterns," said Maj Gen Caldwell, adding that insurgents had therefore resorted to using explosive vests.

He continued that the multi-national forces' "best line of defence" were tip offs from Iraqi civilians which have grown from 4,000 to 10,000 since September last year.