Nov 9, 2007, 9:55 GMT
Tehran - Iraqi officials handed over nine Iranians, detained by US forces in Iraq, to Iranian embassy officials in Baghdad on Friday morning, Iranian media reported.
The US forces have arrested Iranian nationals in recent months, including five staff of the Iranian consulate in January in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region, on charges of offering assistance to armed groups in Iraq.
'Nine Iranians, including two diplomats, Alireza Asghari and Moussa Chegini, who had been arrested in city of Arbil, were delivered to the Iranian officials by the Iraqis early on Friday,' state television IRIB reported.
The US military in Iraq said on Tuesday it would release nine Iranians from custody in the coming days, including five that Tehran insists are diplomats.
Iran's state news agency IRNA in a separate report said the officials at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad have met and received the group but there are still 11 more Iranian nationals in US captivity in Iraq.
'The freed people are now in Baghdad International Airport in order to be flown to Iran,' IRNA quoted a reliable source at Iran's embassy in Baghdad as saying.
Washington has frequently accused Iran of inciting sectarian violence in Iraq. Tehran denies the allegations and argues that the personnel were diplomats, a claim rejected by the United States.
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