Webloggin » Iranian Diplomat Kidnapped in Iraq

Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, was kidnapped by gunmen in Iraqi army uniforms. Keep in mind that the ‘embassy’ has not been considered a place of ‘diplomatic immunity’ by Americans and they have removed Iranian military experts from that building. This time the Americans are not being blamed, but the the Iraqi Defense Ministry is being linked to the kidnapping. IRNA was told the Iraqi Defense Ministry “works under the supervision of American forces”. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

US forces in Iraq have arrested a number of Iranians, including some diplomats, in the past two months, and are still holding five Iranians.

The US accuses Iran of funding and training militants fighting US forces in Iraq.

There has been no immediate comment from the American embassy or US military officials, but Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, has blamed the US for the kidnapping. [snip]

Mr Hosseini said Mr Sharafi was kidnapped outside a branch of Iran’s Bank Melli in the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqi official said the gunmen drove in four-wheel drive vehicles and a BMW and were wearing uniforms of the Iraqi 36th Commando Battalion, a special operations unit that works with US forces.

The official said police close to the scene opened fire on the gunmen and arrested six of them.

Later, another security force came to the police station and said they were taking the six to the Serious Crimes building in Baghdad but the police discovered later that they never arrived there.

The governments of Iran and Iraq, which resumed diplomatic relations following the ouster of Saddam Hussein, have demanded that the US release Iranians seized in previous raids.

Iran denies US charges that it is backing militants in Iraq and blames US troops for the violence and for inflaming tensions between Iraq’s majority Shiite and once-dominant Sunni Arabs. (source)

Syria is now being blamed for violence in Iraq.

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