June 22, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 17, 1429

TEHRAN, June 21: Iran accused the United States on Saturday of supporting a Sunni group which said on Friday it had killed two of 16 Iranian policemen kidnapped last week in a volatile area near the border with Pakistan.

Iran has previously linked the group, Jundollah, to Al Qaeda, but government spokesman Gholamhossin Elham did not repeat that on Saturday.

“This terrorist group, which is supported by the Americans, has a history of such terrorist acts,” Elham told reporters without giving details.

Iran has often accused Washington and London of trying to destabilise the country by supporting rebels, mainly in sensitive border areas.

Jundollah said on Friday it had killed two policemen and threatened to kill 14 others it is holding unless Tehran meets demands including the release of jailed comrades, Al Arabiya television reported.

It said a spokesman identified as Abdul-Raouf had told Arabiya by phone that the group had decided to kill the men after the Iranian government executed two Sunnis in its custody.

—Reuters