US HOLDING 14 IRANIANS IN IRAQ

DJ/AFP:

The U.S. military in Iraq has 14 Iranians in its custody, U.S. military officials told AFP Monday, an increase in the previously released number.

The Iranians are "being held as imperative threats to security," the U.S. Central Command said in a separate statement from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. "We currently have 14 Iranian detainees in coalition custody," said Major Brad Leighton, spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq. He added: "The dates and times of their individual capture are not immediately available."

They include three men detained in the northern city of Erbil in January last year on suspicion of supporting insurgents.

U.S. officials accuse Iran of meddling in Iraq by training Shiite militias and shipping in armor-piercing explosives for attacks on U.S. troops. Iran denies the charges.

HMMMMM.... THIS ANNOUNCEMENT COMES ON THE HEELS OF THE FRENCH/QATAR JOINT EXERCISES AND THAT EXPLOSION IN TABRIZ... SUBTLE MESSAGES, WARNINGS PERHAPS.