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WASHINGTON, Sept 8: The White House on Thursday revealed what may be a United States diplomatic first: the US embassy in Baghdad houses a formal ‘Office of Hostage Affairs’ to handle abductions of American citizens and other nationals.
“The United States, through the Office of Hostage Affairs in Embassy Baghdad, is addressing the scourge of kidnapping in Iraq, a key source of terrorist financing,” the White House said in an official document.
“Through interagency and international efforts, hostages have been freed and/or rescued,” it said in the document.
The US embassy in Baghdad makes no mention of such an office on its Internet site.
—AFP
