Community | January 07, 2010 | 1 comment

British troops tried to rescue hostages at Iran border

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British troops in southern Iraq were scrambled to the Iranian border after the abduction of five British hostages in May 2007, in a failed attempt to stop them being taken into Iran, the Guardian has learned.

The troops were sent to the border area north of Basra to intercept the kidnappers after receiving intelligence that they were heading to the frontier from Baghdad, but failed to find them. It is unclear whether the British unit arrived too late or went to a different crossing point along the 1,500km border.

British officials today refused to give details of the attempted rescue operation, describing the issue as "extremely sensitive", but a British journalist visiting the Iraq-Iran border a few months after the abduction was briefed on the operation by British officers who had taken part
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