24 Iranian nationals out of Iraqi jail

An Iraqi news agency announced yesterday that 24 Iranian nationals, imprisoned in one of Iraq's jails, were released.

However, a New York Times report yesterday gave a different account saying "The Iraqi police acknowledged Sunday that 24 Iranians who had been detained for entering the country illegally and using fake passports had escaped from a prison on the Iraqi side of the porous border."

But Aswat al-Iraq quoted an Iraqi security official as saying that the Iranians were released from Al-Badre prison in Kout province Saturday afternoon and departed for Iran.

They had been arrested on charge of illegal entry to Iraqi territories for pilgrimage. They were released by Iraqi judicial officials.

Al-Badre prison is located 80 kilometers east of Kout province in the vicinity of joint border with Iran.

However, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted an informed source in Iran's embassy in Baghdad as saying that there is no official declaration on their release by the Iraqi government. The source who was speaking on condition of anonymity, added that Iran's embassy in Iraq was making efforts to prepare ground for the release of the 24 Iranian nationals.

Meantime, Nine Iraqi nationals, who entered Iran's territorial waters in Arvand River illegally on Friday, were arrested by Iranian coast guards.

Colonel Naqib Fatemi, commander of Khorramshahr coast guards said Saturday that the Iraqi nationals, who were passing through Arvand River aboard a boat, had approached one of the harves of Khorramshahr port when they were arrested by the Iranian coast guards. The arrested Iraqis were handed over to judicial authorities, the colonel added.