3 American Tourists Being Held In Iran

[nopasties]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/me...ican.tourists/

From Arwa Damon CNN

(CNN) -- Three American tourists are believed to be in Iranian custody after they may have strayed across the border from Iraq during a mountain hike, Kurdish officials said Friday.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, said it was checking into the reports but could not confirm them.
The four Americans -- two of them students in Syria -- traveled from Syria to Turkey and then into Kurdistan in northern Iraq, arriving at Irbil on Tuesday, according to Peshrow Ahmed, spokesman for the security manager of Sulaimaniya, where they arrived Thursday after driving from Irbil.
All four spent the night at the Nirwan Hotel, according to the owner of the facility.
Three of the group left early Friday in a taxi for Ahmed Awa near Iraq's border with Iran, planning to hike in the mountains there, Ahmed said. The fourth member of the group was ill and stayed behind.
The taxi driver dropped the three off near the border and returned to town, he said.
Ahmed Awa police spotted the hikers at one point on Friday, Ahmed said, and warned them that they were near the Iranian border -- which is not marked in the area -- and that they should be careful.
The group was in contact with their companion in Sulaimaniya until about 1:30 p.m. Friday, when they reported they were "surrounded by Iranian soldiers," Ahmed said. No further communication was received.
Officials in Sulaimaniya are meeting to devise a strategy to bring the hikers home safely, Ahmed said.
Mudhafer Mohammed, owner of the Nirwan Hotel, said the hikers said they had come to the area because they heard it was safe, saying they were considering a trip to Ahmed Awa. But, he said, he advised against it.
"I warned them many times," Mohammed said.
"When they told me that they are planning to go to Ahmed Awa, I told them, 'Don't go there because it is unsafe for you because you're American and Ahmed Awa is very close to the Iranian border,' " he said.
The fourth American who had stayed behind left the hotel about 4:30 p.m., Mohammed said, asking him to take care of their luggage and saying he would not return. Later, he said, Sulaimaniya security forces took the luggage from the hotel.

Not good if true. Anyone else hear this?

[Banana Jelly]

I bet the American Irani invasion will start soon, like the iraqi invasion

[Mikelus Trento]

I bet the American Irani invasion will start soon, like the iraqi invasion

I'll take that bet.

I'm curious about this "tourist" thing. When did Iraq become the garden spot of the world for tourism?

[My Favorite Martian]

Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...33477820090801
LeMonde:
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/...5031_3218.html

[Mikelus Trento]

Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...33477820090801
LeMonde:
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/...5031_3218.html

Thank you.

[lordoftheT]

I'll take that bet.

I'm curious about this "tourist" thing. When did Iraq become the garden spot of the world for tourism?

The area around the Iran border has some nice hiking apparently. Likley alot safer than the cities since no insurgents would bother sticking around there.

Doubt they're spies as some people seem convinced considering thats there are far easier ways to enter Iran. After all Iran is no North Korea.

[Mikelus Trento]

The area around the Iran border has some nice hiking apparently. Likley alot safer than the cities since no insurgents would bother sticking around there.

Doubt they're spies as some people seem convinced considering thats there are far easier ways to enter Iran. After all Iran is no North Korea.

Why in heaven's name though would AMERICAN tourists choose to hike in Iraq? Have you ever visited Yellowstone, Glacier, or any National Park in the US? It would seem quite eccentric to travel to the other side of the world to hike when it can be done even more scenically right here. I wasn't aware travel restrictions by Americans to Iraq had changed. Have they?

[Farnan]

Why in heaven's name though would AMERICAN tourists choose to hike in Iraq? Have you ever visited Yellowstone, Glacier, or any National Park in the US? It would seem quite eccentric to travel to the other side of the world to hike when it can be done even more scenically right here.

Because they were already in the Middle East. Two were students at a University in Syria, probably studying abroad.

[lordoftheT]

Why in heaven's name though would AMERICAN tourists choose to hike in Iraq? Have you ever visited Yellowstone, Glacier, or any National Park in the US? It would seem quite eccentric to travel to the other side of the world to hike when it can be done even more scenically right here.

I've actually met a few people who have done this. They were college students who thought that it would somehow show their support for the Iraqi people while at the same time showing that they were immune to getting killed or something. I wouldnt be too surprised if the tourists here had some similar idea.

[Hub'ite]

Iran's got a thing for kidnapping people....

[removeduser_487563287433]

Iran's got a thing for kidnapping people....

In their own borders? Look, if these people are tourists, and that's not even for certain, they're ing idiots.

[BlackPirate]

This is one of the funniest things i ve ever heard."Tourists" in Iraq, a place where if you are a white gye you risk being kidnapped and decapitated.Also a mountain hike in the Iraqi-Iranian border?This is even more ridiculous.I believe the word turists is an euphimism for the word spies

[Justice and Mercy]

This is one of the funniest things i ve ever heard."Tourists" in Iraq, a place where if you are a white gye you risk being kidnapped and decapitated.Also a mountain hike in the Iraqi-Iranian border?This is even more ridiculous.I believe the word turists is an euphimism for the word spies

Ahmed Awa is a popular tourist destination. Ever seen the pictures? Pretty place. Perfect for spies, clearly.

Good job, detectives.

[danzig]

This is one of the funniest things i ve ever heard."Tourists" in Iraq, a place where if you are a white gye you risk being kidnapped and decapitated.Also a mountain hike in the Iraqi-Iranian border?This is even more ridiculous.I believe the word turists is an euphimism for the word spies

No mention of race and they were students and as mentioned above take a look at the region, hikers are going to flock to places like that. Stupid students rather then spies.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_w...iranians_.html

"The mountainous border area is a popular hiking destination and well-known for its thick growth of pistachio trees.
The border force official said Iranian authorities apparently arrested the three Americans because they had entered the neighboring country without permission.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the U.S. Embassy "is aware of the report and is investigating. We are using all available means to determine the facts in this case."
Iranian officials made no immediate comment.
The self-ruled Kurdish region has been relatively free of the violence that plagues the rest of Iraq. Foreigners often feel freer to move around without security guards in the area."

[Farnan]

This is one of the funniest things i ve ever heard."Tourists" in Iraq, a place where if you are a white gye you risk being kidnapped and decapitated.Also a mountain hike in the Iraqi-Iranian border?This is even more ridiculous.I believe the word turists is an euphimism for the word spies

http://www.digihitch.com/article980.html

[BlackPirate]

http://www.digihitch.com/article980.html

I ve heard other news about western tourists going to Iraq but for this reason they were in news headlines (because such a trip is idiotic).If insurgents or criminals see you, you are in big trouble.These people went to that hotel without bodyguards which is even more sucpicious(the isolated tourists that go there now have bodyguards).Anyway i cant know.For me such a journey is stupid and dangerous for multiple reasons

[Farnan]

I ve heard other news about western tourists going to Iraq but for this reason they were in news headlines (because such a trip is idiotic).If insurgents or criminals see you, you are in big trouble.These people went to that hotel without bodyguards which is even more sucpicious(the isolated tourists that go there now have bodyguards).Anyway i cant know.For me such a journey is stupid and dangerous for multiple reasons

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. - Napoleon Bonaparte

[The Doppler Effect]

I think the conspiracy theorys are funny. but in all seriousness i am interested in what good it would be to have spy's patrolling a border.

On topic, i really hope those students don't end up completely regretting the experience.

Take it easy

[Farnan]

I think the conspiracy theorys are funny. but in all seriousness i am interested in what good it would be to have spy's patrolling a border.

On topic, i really hope those students don't end up completely regretting the experience.

Take it easy

Especially as its the Iran-Kurdish border. We don't need American spies, we just ask the Iranian PDK and Iranian DPK...

[Gertrudius]

I doubt it's "spies". People do idiotic things without thinking them through. It's one of the most basic parts of the human experience. Besides why would spying on the border be a priority? That's what the whole Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement is for is it not?

Take it easy

I sense a disturbance in the force.

Take it easy,