Baghdad Iranian embassy denies US troops raid

Baghdad, Jan 23: An official at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad denied a report US and Iraqi forces were raiding its compound today and an embassy source said private security guards were there with a visiting UN official.

An Iraqi journalist said he had spoken to a colleague who had seen US and Iraqi army vehicles surrounding the embassy. But an official who answered the telephone there said: ''There is nothing happening ... There are no American forces here.'' The source at the embassy said UN envoy Ashraf Qazi had visited the Iranian ambassador and his security guards were parked outside.

A US military spokesman had no immediate comment.

US officials have said they will move to curb what they say are networks of Iranian agents in Iraq. They have twice before arrested Iranian officials in Iraq in the past month, including five at an Iranian government building two weeks ago.

US forces searched the compound of the Sudanese embassy, which has been closed for some time, earlier this month.

REUTERS

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