US: The United States has expelled two Iraqi diplomats accredited to the United Nations for spying and asked numerous other countries to follow suit.
"The United States has requested the departure of two attaches to the Iraqi mission to the United Nations," said Ms Tara Rigler, a State Department spokeswoman.
She identified the two men as Mr Nazih Abdul Latif Rahman and Mr Yehia Naeem Suaood and said both had been engaged in "activities outside the scope of their official functions".
The phrase is diplomatic parlance for espionage.
"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, Ms 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," Ms 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.