150 Suspected al-Qaeda, Taliban Members Detained in Iran

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, February 16, 2002

150 Suspected al-Qaeda, Taliban Members Detained in Iran

About 150 suspected members of the terrorist al-Qaeda Organization and Afghan Taliban have been arrested in Iran at its borders with Pakistan, the official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday.

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About 150 suspected members of the terrorist al-Qaeda Organization and Afghan Taliban have been arrested in Iran at its borders with Pakistan, the official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday.

The detainees are nationals of Arab, African and European countries, with some carrying French, British, Belgian, Spanish and Dutch passports, the agency quoted an informed source as saying.

The embassies of the above-mentioned countries in Tehran have been noticed of the arrests, disclosed the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source told the IRNA that "those arrested have traveled the 750-kilometer distance between Pakistani city of Quetta and Iranian border city of Mir-Javeh in the (southeastern) Sistan Baluchestan Province without being prevented at all by Pakistan's security forces."

Iran has no security problems in its borders with Afghanistan, but faces troubles in its long borders with Pakistan in the absence of complete controls by that country's border guards, the source added.

According to initial questioning of the infiltrators, no key member with links to Taliban or al-Qaeda exists among them and most of them entered Afghanistan after the start of US military strikes on October 7.

There are several women and children among the detainees, the source said, adding that an investigation has been launched to shed light into their complete identity and their possible links to terror groups, the source noted.

The United States recently cited Iran as part of an "axis of evil", that also includes Iraq and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and accused Tehran of providing assistance to al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives.

The US remarks have triggered strong condemnations from Iranian leaders and people from all walks of life in recent days.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on Thursday denied the US allegation on Tehran's assistance to al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives, saying that "the information is old, false and inaccurate and cannot be used."

"Iran, in accordance with its commitments and UN resolutions, has made many efforts to fight terrorism and will do so in the future," he stressed.

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