BAGHDAD, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Coalition forces are holding twelve suspected al-Qaida members captured in Iraq, U.S. administrator Paul Bremer told reporters Friday.
They are believed to be part of a group of 248 foreign fighters being held in Iraq. According to a report by the BBC, the largest number of fighters -- 123 -- came from Syria, with large numbers also coming from Iran and Yemen.
The United States has blamed some of the attacks against Western targets in Iraq on foreign fighters who have infiltrated the Iraq's borders.
Bremer said most of the "terrorists" were getting in via "ratlines" from Syria.
The U.S. government has repeatedly accused Syria of blocking U.S. efforts to restore order in Iraq. Syria has denied the charge.
The U.S. administrator said he could not provide the nationalities of all the foreign fighters captured in Iraq.
Asked how it was established that 19 of the detainees were al-Qaeda members, Bremer said: "That's been a matter that has come out in their interrogations or in their documents."
