December 11, 2005

Iranian Militants Abducted in Iraq

From a CENTCOM press release:

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Two members of the Peopleā€™s Mojahedin of Iran, Hossein Pouyan and Mohammad-Ali Zahedi from the City of Ashraf, were reported to authorities as abducted on Aug. 4 in eastern Baghdad while on a routine logistics trip. The residents of Camp Ashraf have been considered protected persons under the fourth Geneva Convention since June 2004.

Upon receiving reports of the abduction, Multi-National Force - Iraq requested that the Iraqi Police investigate the incident and is assisting in attempts to locate the missing individuals.

MNF-I requests that anyone in possession of information on the whereabouts of these two individuals to contact the Iraqi Police or MNF-I at the email address below.

The PMOI, also know as Mujahedin-e Khalq, is a little-known group, apparently welcomed into Iraq by the Saddam Hussein regime during its war with Iran. PMOI was designated as a "terrorist organization" by the US State Department in 1997, and the organization's UK-based media arm has been fighting to get the designation changed.

No reason has been given for the long delay in reporting the abductions.

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto.

By Bluto01:32 PM | |