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Four soldiers from the Army's 1092nd Engineer
Company, a civilian Army contractor, two civilian captains
and two boat drivers were taken by force by the Iranian military.
The 1092nd Engineers include the Spencer Detachment. They, and several other
community National Guard units, are attached to Parkersburg. They were activated prior
to the Iraqi war.
Rumors in the region indicated the group was captured, but the Hur Herald learned
today they were more likely detained. The incident appears to have caused few
problems.
The group was sailing up the Shatt al Arab
waterway in the al Faw peninsula Sunday to pick up Iraqi
South Oil Co. personnel when they were taken by force by
Iranians, a spokesman, Cmdr. Dan Gage, said from Central
Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
The nationalities of the civilians were not available.
The boats were to take the oil company personnel to
the Mini al Bakr platform to conduct a survey of the oil
platform when the Iranians blindfolded them and took them
to a building where they were interrogated throughout
Sunday night, Gage said.
On Monday, the Iranians took the group back to their
boats and released all of them except the two drivers, Gage
said.
A Chinook helicopter located them near the waterway
Monday, Gage said. U.S. Navy crew members drove the
boats to Kuwait.
Initial medical examinations indicate there were no
injuries or signs of physical abuse, Gage said.
The group may have moved into Iranian territorial
waters, he said. The Mini al Bakr platform is very close to
Iran's declared international water boundaries.
A spokesman from the 1092nd Engineering Battalion's main headquarters in Parkersburg
confirms several soldiers were detained and questioned for unknown reasons.The spokesperson said "You know as much about it as we do," refering to wire reports.
The Herald was attempting to obtain more accurate information Tuesday night.
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