US forces raid Iran official office in Iraq - TVs

ARBIL, Iraq, Jan 11 (Reuters) US forces raided an Iranian government representative's office in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil early today and made a number of arrests, Iraq's state television and a Kurdish station reported.

There was no immediate comment on the reports of a US raid in Arbil from the American military. Iranian Foreign Ministry officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Iraqiya state television said US forces also confiscated computers and documents in the raid on the building in central Arbil. A Kurdish station said Kurdish security forces had taken over the building after the Americans left the area.

US officials have repeatedly accused non-Arab, Shi'ite Iran of interfering in the affairs of Iraq, where the long-oppressed Shi'ite majority in now in power.

In December, US forces in Baghdad arrested a number of Iranians they said were suspected of planning attacks on Iraqi security forces, including diplomats who were later turned over to Iraqi authorities.

A US official said that the arrests in December validated US assertions about ''Iranian meddling'' in Iraq.

REUTERS SB BST1525