Emergency.Blog

Iranian Diplomat Reported Kidnapped in Baghdad

06 February 2007

Gunmen in Iraqi Army Uniforms Kidnap Iranian Diplomat in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, IRAQ: Gunmen in Iraqi army uniforms have abducted an Iranian diplomat in Baghdad. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said it holds the United States responsible for the safety of its diplomat, who was seized in Baghdad's Karradah district late Sunday.

The Iranian spokesman said the kidnappers were linked to Iraq's Defense Ministry "which works under the supervision of American forces." A U.S. military spokesman denied any U.S. involvement in the seizure of the Iranian diplomat.

Iraqi officials say assailants riding in two vehicles intercepted the diplomat's car in the mainly Shi'ite district.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged his military commanders to speed up preparations for a security crackdown in Baghdad. The new security plan calls for 90,000 Iraqi and U.S. troops to patrol Baghdad's neighborhoods.

President Bush said Monday it is a good sign the Iraqi government wants the Baghdad security operation to begin. Mr. Bush last month announced his plan to send more U.S. forces to Baghdad.

Source:Voice of America News, http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-02-06-voa10.cfm (Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters)

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ERRI/EmergencyNet News ANALYSIS:

Noting the allegations that U.S.-backed forces had kidnapped an Iranian diplomat, ERRI analysts said that their preliminary assessment would suggest that this may have been a "false-flag" operation involving other people disquised as Iraqi soldiers. On at least two previous occasions in recent weeks, insurgents have undertaken attacks while dressed as American or Iraqi forces.

One analyst, very familiar with the situation in Iraq, said that this latest kidnapping may be an attempt to "create a provocation" that would lead to an escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran.

"Much more investigation remains to be done in this case...there are given elements among both Sunni and Shi'ite forces who would/could undertake this kind of an covert act in effort to try to provoke the Iranians to directly attack U.S. and Coalition units in Iraq," one veteran analyst said today.

"The intrigue of 'who is fighting who in Iraq' continues to increase in complexity with each passing day," another ERRI military analyst noted. "Often these days, the hard part is determining who is actually undertaking the attacks as both sides try to misdirect attention and responsibility and yet accomplish their devious goals...that is the history of this region of the world...rarely are things as they appear," he added.