No Shi'ite hostages in Madaen, claims Al-Qaeda

DUBAI - Iraq's al Qaeda wing said on Sunday a hostage crisis in Madaen near Baghdad had been fabricated to give Iraqi forces a pretext to raid the town and attack Sunni Muslims, according to an internet statement.

"The infidels fabricated the case of the hostages. They are lying," the Sunni group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said in the statement on an Islamist website.

"The infidels and apostates incited them (Shi'ites) to lie so that they can invade Madaen as they did Fallujah ... and other cities," it said, referring to last year's US-led military offensive against the Sunni city west of Baghdad.

Another insurgent group, the Islamic Army in Iraq, echoed the charge in an internet posting.

"Today we see a flagrant aggression against Madaen and its people using a baseless excuse ... that Sunni militants ... are detaining Shi'ite hostages," it said.

The authenticity of the statements could not be verified immediately.

Iraqi forces, backed by US troops, surrounded Madaen on Sunday to prepare to rescue Shi'ite hostages.

A senior Shi'ite official in Baghdad said up to 150 hostages were being held, including women and children. But a police official has said the number of hostages could be as few as three.

Al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq said the standoff in Madaen was triggered by Iraqi troops raiding Sunni homes.

"The enemies of God, the pagan guards and police -- helped by the crusaders and Jews -- raided Sunni homes, beat up Sunnis in front their families, arrested them and took them to (the southeastern city) Kut for no reason or crime," it said.

Zarqawi's group is one of the main networks of insurgents in Iraq fighting the government and US forces.

- REUTERS