FBI told police to hold Berg
13/05/2004 17:16  - (SA)  

Iraqi police deny holding Berg Worth a thousand words Server kills beheading website Beheading, abuse link rejected Bush: Beheading not justified Amnesty condemns beheading Berg 'never under US custody' Beheaded man 'told to leave' American beheaded on camera

Mosul, Iraq - Nick Berg, the US hostage shown being beheaded by Islamic radicals, was held for two weeks in Iraq at the FBI's request for travelling without documents while his identity was checked, a US general said on Thursday.

"Berg was in Mosul. He was travelling alone. The Iraqi police found him without any documentation. Iraqi police was suspicious and took him into custody" Brigadier General Carter Ham, who heads the Olympia Task Force, said in this northern Iraqi city.

"FBI asked (police) to keep him until they knew who he was" Ham told journalists.

Coalition officials said on Wednesday the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had eventually established Berg was not involved in any "criminal or terrorist" activities.

Berg, a 26-year-old businessman from Pennsylvania, was held in Mosul from March 25 to April 8, Ham said. On Wednesday, coalition spokesperson Dan Senor said he was arrested on March 24 and freed April 6, after being seen three times by FBI agents.

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