US Army holding 5 Americans

WASHINGTON: The US military is holding five US citizens suspected of insurgent activities in Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday. They were captured separately and don’t appear to have ties to one another, spokesman Bryan Whitman said. He declined to identify them, citing a Pentagon policy that prohibits identification of detainees. Three of those being detained are Iraqi-Americans; another is an Iranian-American; the fifth is a Jordanian-American, Whitman said. The three Iraqi-Americans were captured in April, May and June, officials said. The Iranian-American was captured May 17, one official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the cases. One of the Iraqi-Americans allegedly had knowledge of planning for an attack, and another was possibly involved in a kidnapping. The third was “engaged in suspicious activity,” Whitman said, declining to be more specific. Whitman said the Iranian-American was captured with several dozen washing machine timers in his car _ items that can be used as components in bombs. ap

Home | National