FBI Questioning Iraqis in US in Search for Potential Spies: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 25, 2003

FBI Questioning Iraqis in US in Search for Potential Spies: Report

The FBI is questioning as many as 50,000 Iraqis living in the United States in a search for potential terrorist cells and spies, a local media report said Friday.

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The FBI is questioning as many as 50,000 Iraqis living in the United States in a search for potential terrorist cells and spies, a local media report said Friday.

Agents began interviewing Iraqis in their homes and where they work, study and worship about six weeks ago, a senior government official said in an interview with The Associated Press. The program will last several months, the official said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for people who might wish to harm America or whose visas have expired, the report said. The law enforcement agency is also seeking those who might be interested in helping the United States overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

About 300,000 people of Iraqi origin living in the United States, according to the Iraqi-American Council.

Officials say they are looking for any links between Iraqis in the United States and possibly sympathetic radical Muslim groups, such as al-Qaida and Hezbollah. Equally important to the government is identifying Iraqis who might know about weaknesses in Saddam's government or the country's defenses, or who might be in contact with people interested in defecting or providing crucial information, the report said.

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