Iraqis detain three Iranians in northern Iraq

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iraqi police detained three Iranians who were found without documentation in the northern city of Mosul, a provincial commander said Sunday. The three were seized Saturday after they were found without passports while riding with a Kurdish driver, Maj. Gen. Wathiq al-Hamdani, the police commander for Ninevah province, said. He said they claimed they had authorization to travel in the adjacent Kurdish-controlled region but mistakenly entered Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Al-Hamdani said the three were under investigation. The Iraq Foreign Ministry said it had no immediate information on the incident, which came just over a week after six Iranians were detained in a US raid on a liaison office in Kurdish-controlled Irbil, although one was later released.