AFP: A Pentagon spokesman denied Thursday that a building raided by US forces in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil was an Iranian consulate. WASHINGTON, Jan 11, 2007 (AFP) – A Pentagon spokesman denied Thursday that a building raided by US forces in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil was an Iranian consulate.
“I can confirm for you through our forces there that this is not a consulate or a government building,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
Whitman said he did not know the nationality of the six people detained in the raid but said they were “suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraq and coalition forces.”
Iranian officials said five consular employees were arrested in a US raid on an Iranian consulate in Arbil.
“We don’t know the reason for this,” an Iranian diplomat in Baghdad told AFP on condition of anonymity. “The Americans arrested five employees and took all the computers and documentation.”
