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Three Americans detained by Iran in July 2009
for alleged illegal entry were on the Iraqi side of the border at
the time, according to a 

 that is among a huge
cache of documents posted Friday by the WikiLeaks website.


      The report, written on the day of the hikers' arrest July 31,
says the Americans ignored unspecified cautions about their
travels. The report also predicted Iran would accuse the three of
spying, which it later did.


      "The leadership in Iran benefits as it focuses the Iranian
population on a perceived external threat rather than internal
dissension," the report said.


      The document, a field report not meant as a definitive account
or a conclusive assessment, was first reported by The New York
Times on its website Friday. It was among nearly 400,000 secret
U.S. military documents revealed by WikiLeaks.


      Although the documents appear to be authentic, their origin
could not be independently confirmed, and WikiLeaks declined to
offer any details about them. 


The Pentagon has previously declined
to confirm the authenticity of WikiLeaks-released records, but it
has employed more than 100 U.S. analysts to review what was
previously released and has never indicated that any past WikiLeaks
releases were inaccurate.


      In Friday's release, names and other pieces of identifying
information appeared to have been redacted but it was unclear to
what extent WikiLeaks withheld names in response to Pentagon
concerns that people could become targets of retribution.


      The U.S. military report described "a kidnapping of 3 Americans
who were being taken to the Iranian border. The Americans were
hiking near the Iranian border when taken."


      An update later in the day said an Iraqi colonel reported that
the three had been detained "for being too close to the border."


      The State Department has repeatedly urged Iran to release the
three - Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, saying they did
nothing wrong. Iran claims they illegally crossed the border to
spy.


      Shourd was released in September after complaining of health
problems; the two others remain in prison in Iran.

Gallery

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American woman freed by Iran is grateful, humbled

Politics and Government News

Three Americans detained by Iran in July 2009
for alleged illegal entry were on the Iraqi side of the border at
the time, according to a U.S. military report that is among a huge
cache of documents posted Friday by the WikiLeaks website.

Military report: Hikers were in Iraq, not Iran, when they were arrested

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