Washington wants 300 Iraqis out of 60 countries

Washington has called some 60 countries to expel several Iraqi diplomats working in them, this, after the US had taken a similar step on Wednesday by expelling two Iraqis out of 16 Iraqis working at the Iraqi mission at the UN in New York, considering they constitute "a danger" to US national security.

A spokesman for the US Department of State said that Washington called the evacuation of certain workers at the Iraqi diplomats in certain states because of spying operations against its interests abroad.

According to several sources, the U.S. made contacts with some 60 countries asking them to take similar measures.

The spokesman indicated that these steps are based on information the U.S. had received and has nothing to do with the war threats against Iraq. ABC TV reported on Wednesday that Washington thinks that 300 Iraqis are making intelligence activities under diplomatic cover in countries like Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Italy and Jordan.

The Iraqi ambassador at the UN Muhammad al-Douri said "there was no fundamental reason" for evacuating his two employees, Nazih Abdul Latif Rahman and Yahya Naem Saud, who said they were two guards living in the basement of the Iraqi mission in New York. Al- Douri added the two men cannot be called diplomats. They are two civilian security guards." He said that the Americans provoked the two men to defect and when they refused they were expelled by the Americans.