European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 252007 stars and stripes Pace 11 in the world Iran detains 15 British troops the associated press Dubai United Arab emirates iranian naval vessels on Fri Day seized 15 British sailors and marines in disputed persian Gulf Waters off the coast of Iraq Brit ish and us officials said the detentions come at a time of High tension Between the West and Iran which accused the Brit ish of intruding on its territory the British government protested immediately saying the 15 were taken captive in iraqi Waters and summoning the iranian ambassador in London to the foreign office he was left in no doubt that we want them Back Brit Ains foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said after the meeting the britons were assigned to a task Force that protects iraqi Oil terminals and maintains Security in iraqi Waters under authority of the in Security Council a spokesman for the us Navy in Bahrain said the britons were taken captive just outside a Long disputed waterway called the Shatt Alarab dividing Iraq and Iran fridays detentions came As the Security Council debates fur ther sanctions against Iran Over its disputed nuclear program and amid us allegations mat Iran is arming shiite militias in Iraq Iran summoned the top British Diplomat in Tehran to protest the British sailors illegal entry into iranian Waters this is not the first time that British military personnel during the occupation of Iraq have entered illegally into Iran territorial Waters the state to quoted a foreign ministry official As saying he was not identified by name Turkey 0 100 i 0 100km saudi Arabia source sri a the 15 seized British soldiers and marines have been detained by Iran Border authorities for further investigation of the Bla Tant aggression into iranian territorial Waters the official said and demanded an immediate explanation from Britain cmdr Kevin Aandahl of the us navys 5th Fleet said the Ira Nian revolutionary guards had radioed a British warship explain ing that no harm had come to the 15 britons and that they were seized because they were in Irani an Waters the British defense ministry said the iranians took custody of the sailors and marines in iraqi Waters Aandahl said a very limited Exchange of communication occurred Between the iranian revolutionary guards Navy after it had intercepted the Royal Navy service members saying that no harm had come to any personnel and that they were being taken to a place of safety Britain defense ministry said the Royal Navy personnel were engaged in routine boarding of this picture released by Britain Royal Navy on Friday shows the Type 22 frigate has Cornwall on patrol in the North arabian Guk the Irani an Navy detained up to 15 British troops Friday in the persian Gulf rations of merchant shipping in iraqi territorial Waters and had completed a ship inspection when they were accosted by the iranian vessels us officials had expressed concern that with so much Mili tary hardware concentrated in the persian Gulf just such a Small incident could spiral out of control and trigger a major armed confrontation the British government is de manding the immediate Safe re turn of the people and equipment and we Are keeping watch on the situation White House press Secretary Tony Snow said the United states Britain chief ally has built up its naval forces in the Gulf in a show of strength directed at Iran two american carriers including the uss John c by a strike group with More than 6500 sailors and marines and with additional min sweeping ships arrived in the Region in recent months rhetoric Between Western nations and Iran has escalated in re cent months the britons were in two boats from the frigate has Cornwall during a routine smuggling investigation said the British defense ministry the seizure of the British ves Sels a pair of rigid inflatable boats known As ribs took place in Long disputed Waters just outside of the Mouth of the Shatt Alarab waterway that divides Iraq from Iran Aandahl said cargo plane linked to peacekeepers shot Down by Mohamed Olad Hassan the associated press Mogadishu Somalia a cargo plane that had delivered equipment for ugandan peacekeepers in the somali capital was shot Down by a missile during Takeoff Friday the owner of the plane said and a witness said he saw the aircraft crash in flames the Fate of the 11member Crew was unknown Egi Azarian the acting head of be Laru based  confirmed that the company plane was shot Down Friday  based in Minsk Belarus operates Only ilyushin76s one of the largest cargo planes in the world the aircraft re quires a Crew of six is 153 feet Long and can carry nearly 50 tons of cargo Muse Sheik Osman who lives in the North of the City said he saw the burning plane come Down and heard the sound of an antiaircraft missile being fired shortly before the crash capt Paddy Nkunda spokesman for the ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia confirmed a crash Nkunda said he did not know the nationalities of the Crew or whether they had sur Vived another plane had made an emergency Landing on March 9 an islamic group claimed it had hit that plane with a missile but somali and peacekeeping officials said a mechanical failure Likely led to the planes emergency Landing the plane crash came at the end of a particularly violent week in Mogadishu that killed dozens of people most of them civilians much of the violence halted Friday As a truce took effect Between military officials from Ethiopia which sent troops to neighbor ing Somalia last year to help overthrow the islamic movement that had overtaken much of the country and elders of the dominant clan in Somalia capital still sporadic gunfire could be heard around the former defense ministry building in Southern Mogadishu which has been one of the front lines in the two Days of fighting one civilian was killed Early Friday Possi Bly by a stray Bullet said Mohamed Barre Olad who lives near the former defense minis try Headquarters Olad saw the body As he walked Home he said he saw also a wounded Man being taken to a Hospital in a wheelchair an elder Mohammed Ibrahim Aden told the associated press that 25 Hatiye clan elders met with several ethiopian military officials late thursday and agreed to Stop hostilities and begin talks at least 83 die in depot blast in Mozambique Maputo Mozambique Mozambique bloody civil War came Back to haunt it after a depot containing old weapons exploded killing More than 80 peo ple and injuring hundreds More in a fiery Cascade of ignited Rock ets and ammunition the inferno blamed on blistering temperatures that Over heated the soviet built site thurs Day night deepened the misery in this poor Southern african country which is still struggling to Cope with the aftermath of floods and a Cyclone last month us seeks support to deploy defense shield Vienna Austria us officials Are intensifying then Campaign to build support in Europe an capitals for plans to deploy a missile defense shield in Poland and the czech Republic a proposal that Russia contends could touch off a new arms race us Deputy assistant Secre tary of state Mark Pekala was in Vienna on Friday for two Days of meetings with ambassadors to the 56nation organization for Security and cooperation in Europe hoping to win greater regional backing for the plan Security Council rejects time out plan for Iran United nations major Powers circulated a new draft of a Resolution to pressure Iran to sus Pend uranium enrichment with Only minor amendments thurs Day and said they intend to sub Mit it to a in Security Council vote within two Days the five vet wielding Mem Bers of the Security Council along with Germany rejected South Africa proposal for a 90day time out on All sanctions the resolutions sponsors Britain France and Germany submitted the text in its final form and it will Likely be voted on saturday said British ambassador Emyr Jones Parry Zimbabwe warns foreign correspondents Johannesburg South Afri Ca the Zimbabwe government told foreign correspondents in Zimbabwe not to engage in peddling false stories on Security is sues Friday while a longtime critic of Robert Mugabe renewed Calls for a peaceful Campaign to oust him the zimbabwean Media singled out the us network can for what it called biased reports on political unrest from the associated press where do you hang out after class earn an american degree at Webster University Thailand Campus and explore Asia Between studies admissions five limes per year m cd benefits accepted University w 0 r l d w i i i  injured civilian workers including nonus citizens know and protect your Legal rights attorneys  nationwide toll free 8887327425 Law offices of Barnett Lerner a free consultation