Two Britons linked to rebels arrested in Iraq: foreign office

LONDON, Jan 6 (AFP) - Two Britons linked to Iraqi insurgents were recently arrested in Iraq and are currently being held there, authorities said Thursday.
The two suspects were not identified, but the Foreign Office said one of them, aged 25, was arrested after an exchange of gunfire with US Marines on December 7 in Ramadi, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the Iraqi capital.
The man is currently at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad where British diplomats are expected to visit him "in the very near future," it added.
Last spring pictures showing US guards abusing Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib shocked the world, tarnishing the image of the US military.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Defence said a man with dual British and Iraqi citizenship has been held by British forces near the southern Iraqi city of Basra since last November on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.
And an investigation is under way to determine whether a third person held in Iraq is also a British national, the Foreign Office.

01/06/2005 20:25 GMT - AFP