Iraq seizes US arms expert from Kuwait

Washington (Reuter) - Tensions between Iraq and the United States escalated yesterday, when Baghdad seized an American munitions expert inside the Kuwait border and Iraq asked a crucial weapons team to delay inspections until after the US presidential elections in November.

The State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said the US was working through diplomatic channels to secure the man's release. 'There was an American citizen picked up, and the Iraqis have him under their control,' he said.

At the United Nations, Nizar Hamdoun, Iraq's UN ambassador, said he was not looking for a confrontation and hoped the crisis would be defused soon.