Special report:Tension escalates in Iraq

Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

An explosion destroys the Al Jameat Police Station in Basra, south of Baghdad, Dec. 25, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- At least four Iranians were detained by U.S. forces in Baghdad last week on suspicion of planning attacks against Iraqi troops, media reports said.

    Iraqi President Jalal Talabani objected the arrest and a presidential spokesman said Monday that two of them were Iranian diplomats invited by the president.

    "The president is unhappy about it," said Talabani's media adviser, Hiwa Othman, "He is talking to the Americans about it as we speak. The diplomats came to Iraq at the invitation of the president."

    Reports from Iran said the country's foreign ministry has summoned the Swiss ambassador to discuss the case. The Swiss embassy represents U.S. interests in Iran.

    The U.S. State Department said a small number of Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in a raids, but they had been turned over to the Iraqi authorities and released.

    Othman said he and other government officials were not aware the diplomats had been freed.

    "We are only aware of the arrest of the two diplomats. I don't think that there are any military officials," he said.    

    The arrests came at a time of escalating tension between the U.S., Iran and Iraq, after the UN Security Council passed a resolution Saturday imposing sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

    (Agencies)

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     British, Iraqi forces raid police station in Basra

    BAGHDAD, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- British and Iraqi forces stormed one of main police stations in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Monday and transferred dozens of detainees, a local police source and a witness said.

    "British and Iraqi forces raided the building of the Iraqi Major Crimes Unit in Basra in the early hours of this morning," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

     Seven policemen killed in explosion in NE of Baghdad

    BAGHDAD, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Seven policemen were killed and at least 20 others wounded when an explosion occurred at a police station in Maqdadiyah town in Diyala province, local police told Xinhua.

    "A powerful explosion took place at the Maqdadiyah police station early in the morning, killing seven policemen and wounding at least 20 others," a source from the provincial Diyala media office said.

    Two U.S. soldiers killed in bomb attacks in Baghdad

    BAGHDAD, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S. soldiers were killed and four others wounded in two roadside bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

    A Soldier assigned to Multi-national Division - Baghdad was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near their patrol in southeast Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.