Coalition 'citizens' held in Iraq

The men are being held at Abu Ghraib prison just outside Baghdad

Eight men claiming to be Americans and Britons have been arrested by US forces in Iraq.

They are being held on suspicion of involvement in attacks on coalition forces, a US Army spokesman said.

The UK Foreign Office is investigating the claims by two of the men that they are British citizens.

The other six claim to be American and it is the first time the US military has reported the possible involvement of Westerners in the attacks on troops.

Brigadier General Janis Karpinski said the prisoners were being questioned at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

Brig Gen Karpinski, who is in charge of coalition detention centres in Iraq, said the men were considered security detainees.

The folks that we have scooped up have, on a number of occasions, multiple identifications Donald Rumsfeld US Defence Secretary

"Six are claiming to be Americans and two are claiming to be British," she said.

She added that the six "had accents that suggested they were Americans, but when you talked to them their stories started falling apart".

At a Pentagon news briefing, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, said there was a chance the men could be claiming to be British or American to escape detention.

"The folks that we have scooped up have, on a number of occasions, multiple identifications from different countries.

"They are quite skilled at confusing people as to what their real nationality is or where they came from and what they are doing.

"It takes a little time to sort these things out. We do not have additional information and we likely will not have additional information in the period immediately."

Foreign fighters

It is unclear when the men were arrested.

Their existence was discovered by journalists on a tour of the prison, which is 20km (12 miles) west of the Iraqi capital.

They are among 10,000 prisoners being held in prisons in Iraq by US forces.

During the conflict in Afghanistan, US troops captured American John Lindh who was fighting alongside the Taliban.

He was sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty to supplying services to the Taliban.