Egypt removes Iraq pro-insurgency channel from air

CAIRO, Feb 26 (Reuters) An Egyptian state-run satellite firm has stopped transmitting an Iraqi channel whose footage of U S soldiers being blown up by Sunni insurgents infuriated Washington, an Egyptian broadcasting official said today.

Analysts pointed to U S and Arab diplomatic pressure as a likely reason, although satellite service provider Nilesat said the anti-U S al-Zawraa channel was removed from the air because it created a ''buzz'' that interfered with other channels.

''We discovered lately that there is a buzz on the whole transponder which al-Zawraa transmits through,'' Amin Bassiouni, chairman of Egypt's Nilesat, told Reuters.

''So we began to feel this is dangerous for the satellite itself ... We stopped it at once. And when we stopped Zawraa, the buzz stopped,'' he added. He said the broadcasts were stopped on Saturday.

Al-Zawraa, which had been broadcast by Nilesat for more than a year, angered Washington and Iraq by showing bloody images of attacks by Sunni insurgents, including some in which US soldiers were killed.

Washington and Iraq had voiced concerns over the channel with the Egyptian government. But Arab media said Egypt initially resisted pleas to stop transmissions.

US embassy officials declined to comment, and Egyptian officials could not be immediately reached.

Arab media have reported that Egypt had said it could not interfere with a purely business deal between al-Zawraa and Nilesat, and that Egypt was not responsible for the content of the channel.

But Egypt, a key ally of Washington in the Middle East, has not shied away from attempting to silence Egyptian and Arab media whose message either criticises the Egyptian government or offends sensibilities.

An Al-Jazeera producer is currently facing trial over a planned documentary on torture in Egyptian police stations, and an opposition blogger was sentenced to four years in jail last week for insulting both Islam and President Hosni Mubarak.

Independent Cairo-based analyst Josh Stacher said of the al-Zawraa move: ''This thing has all the hallmarks of having some sort of quiet diplomatic resolution.'' ''Maybe it was the United States or maybe it was other Arab governments like Saudi Arabia and Jordan telling them to turn it off because it's really sort of hurting the Sunni-Shi'ite divide,'' he added. Al-Zawraa has also been widely seen as anti-Shi'ite.

Egypt was friendly with former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the 1980s but fell out with him over Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Cairo opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, but has since said US troops should stay in Iraq until law and order is restored.

Last month, Egypt's foreign minister expressed support for a US plan to send more troops to Iraq to help the government improve security, especially in the capital. Egypt has also expressed concerns that rival Iran was trying to spread Shi'ite Islam in Arab countries, including Iraq..

Reuters SBA RN0114