Baghdad, Iraq – U.S. troops released seven Iranians early today, hours after detaining them at a central Baghdad hotel, an Iranian embassy official said.
The Iranian diplomat, who refused to give his name, told The Associated Press that one of those released contacted the embassy this morning to say that they had been handed over to Iraqi authorities.
American troops raided Baghdad’s Sheraton Ishtar hotel and took away a group of about 10 people late Tuesday. The diplomat said the seven Iranians included an embassy staffer and six members of a delegation from Iran’s Electricity Ministry.
The U.S. military confirmed that it had taken “some individuals … identified as being Iranian citizens with Iranian passports” into custody on Tuesday, but said they were apprehended at a checkpoint nearby the Sheraton hotel during a routine stop.
The others involved were “Iraqi escorts who identified themselves with Iraqi Ministry of Electricity badges,” the military said.
Several of the men were observed to have weapons in their cars, none of them had the appropriate permits, so all were detained, the military said.
The arrest of Iranians officials could add to tensions between Washington and Tehran already strained by the detention of each other’s citizens as well as U.S. accusations of Iranian involvement in Iraq’s violence and alleged Iranian efforts to develop nuclear bombs.
On Tuesday, fighting erupted between rival Shiite militias in Karbala during a religious festival, claiming 51 lives and forcing officials to abort the celebrations and order up to 1 million Shiite pilgrims to leave the southern city.
Security officials said Mahdi Army gunmen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fired on guards around two shrines protected by the Badr Brigade, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
In addition to the deaths, security officials said at least 247 people were wounded, including women and children.
