Iran has arrested four Kurdish rebels of a banned group who worked for a militant based in Britain, the English-language Press TV reported on Thursday, quoting the intelligence ministry.
Majid Bakhtiar, Hajeer Ebrahimi, Loqman Moradi and Zanyar Moradi who are members of the banned Komala group were arrested in Iran's western city of Marivan, the channel said on its website.
The five are accused of carrying out five assassinations in Iran in the past two years, the report said.
"They have confessed to getting orders in the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah from their commander Jalil Fattahi," who is residing in Britain, it said, adding that documents and weapons were confiscated from them.
The report described Fattahi as "one of the commanders of the Komala terrorist group which has been perpetuating several assassinations in the western cities of Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979."
The four men claimed "they were originally promised 20,000 US dollars for each murder, but they only received 8,000 dollars after accomplishing the mission," the report said.
In early September, Iranian security forces killed four members of Komala in the Iranian province of Kordestan.
Western Iran, which has a sizeable Kurdish population, has seen deadly clashes in recent years between security forces and Kurdish rebel groups operating from bases in neighbouring Iraq.
In May, Iran hanged four Kurds, including a woman, after convicting them of belonging to another outlawed Kurdish group, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK).
Copyright © 2010 AFP
Thursday 4 November 2010
Iran arrests 4 Kurds 'working for UK-based leader'
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