The U.S. military released nine Iranian detainees to the Iraqi government Friday who "no longer pose a security risk" and have no "intelligence value," a military statement said. The nine will be taken to the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad and then on to Iran. They were among 20 Iranians in U.S. custody.Two of those released Friday are affiliated with the Iranian military entity called Quds Force, a group recently designated by the United States as a supporter of terrorism, a U.S. military commander said.
Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a military spokesman, briefed reporters on Wednesday and said the two arrested in January in Irbil are "associates" of the Quds Force, an arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The two were among five detained people Smith referred to as the "Irbil Five." However, Smith differentiated between the threat they pose as individuals and the entity they belong to.
Read More
