US troops detaining Iranian TV crew in Iraq since July 1

[LauraK]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - An Iranian television team has been detained by US forces in Iraq since July 1, a journalist in Baghdad said.

Two reporters, an interpreter and a driver from Iran's Channel 2, were arrested by US troops as they filmed a documentary near the southern town of Diwaniyah, said Gholem Reza Koutchak, the Baghdad bureau chief of the station's parent company, Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). ..

The Iranian consul headed last Tuesday to the army base in Diwaniyah to inquire into the matter, but was told the journalists had been transferred to the US prison at Baghdad international airport.

He said the US military had said they were "suspicious" about the journalists, without giving further information.

At Iran's request, the International Committee of the Red Cross sent a letter last Monday to the US army for a meeting with the detainees, but has not yet received an answer.

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[wtmusic]

1. Sounds like the airport is turning into Gitmo East n/t