"The United States has requested the departure of two attaches to the Iraqi mission to the United Nations," said Tara Rigler, a State Department spokeswoman.
She identified the two men as Nazih Abdul Latif Rahman and Yehia Naeem Suaood and said both had been enagaged in "activities outside the scope of their official functions."
That phrase is diplomatic parlance for espionage and though Rigler would not say so, she did admit the pair were considered a risk to the United States.
"Federal law enforcement authorities deemed these activities to be harmful to US national security," she said, adding that the pair had been given three days to leave the country.
In addition, Rigler said Washington had asked numerous foreign countries to expel suspected Iraqi spies operating in those nations on the grounds that the United States believes they are threats to its interests abroad.
"The United States has asked host governments in a number of countries to expel Iraqi intelligence agents, some operating under diplomatic cover, who we believe to pose threats to our personnel and installations overseas," she said.
She denied suggestions that the requests were related to stepped up US planning for a possible war against Iraq and the apparent imminence of conflict.
"These actions are based on threat information that the United States has received, they have no bearing on the timing of possible military action against Iraq," Rigler said.
She declined to say which or how many countries had been asked to take action against alleged Iraqi spies, but other sources said at least 60 nations had been approached on the matter.
The sources said that several hundred Iraqis in those countries had been identified as possible threats.
The US television network ABC reported late Wednesday that the United States believed there were about 300 Iraqi intelligence agents operating undercover in countries ranging from Bahrain to Yemen, Egypt to Italy and Japan.
It said the expulsion requests were part of a new US campaign, code-named "Imminent Horizon," that is intended to disrupt and rattle Iraqi intelligence agents around the world - Sapa-AFP
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