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Iraq Refutes Czech Statement on Diplomat's Contact With Terror Suspect
Iraq on Thursday refuted allegations of Czech Interior Minister Stanislav Gross that an Iraqi diplomat had once met with Mohammed Atta, a leading suspect of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States.
"Stanislav Gross knows well what he spoke to the press had absolutely nothing to do with the reality and it contradicted with his previous statements, including the statement to the French daily Le Monde on October 9, in which he said he could not confirm the meeting between Mohammed Atta and the Iraqi diplomat in Prague," an Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
In a statement carried by the official Iraqi News Agency, the spokesman accused the Czech minister of serving Israel by trying to instigate the West to launch a war against the Arabs and Muslims.
Western media have reported that Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani, a former Iraqi consul and second secretary in the Iraqi embassy in the Czech Republic, met twice with Atta in Prague last year and this year.
Ani was declared persona non grata and expelled by Prague in April for activities "incompatible with his diplomatic status."
Gross said in September that Prague was inquiring about possible contacts by Atta in the country.
Iraq has categorically denied such meetings as well as any link with the terror attacks in New York and Washington.
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