‘Confessions’ Disputed by Syria
Syria dismissed televised statements by men who said they had been trained by the Syrian intelligence service to become insurgents in Iraq.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency on Thursday quoted a security source as saying the remarks were “utterly baseless and unfounded.”
Iraq’s state-run and U.S.-funded Al Iraqiya television channel Wednesday aired what appeared to be televised confessions by insurgents.
In one statement, a man said, “My name is Anas Ahmed al-Essa. I live in Halab. I am from Syria. I am a lieutenant in ... Syrian intelligence.”
A group of men in the broadcast described how they had received training in beheading, bombing and shooting at the Syrian port city of Latakia in 2001.
The confessions could not be independently verified.
“Syria is keen on the security and stability in Iraq and does not interfere in its internal affairs,” the security source said.
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