News In Brief

2 Iranian pilots win asylum in Iraq after landing with jet

One of Iran's US-made F-4 Phantom jet fighters landed at an Iraqi military base Thursday and its two pilots requested and were granted political asylum, the military spokesman announced. Iran confirmed the apparent defection and blamed ''Western imperialism'' and the exiled leftist Mujahideen opposition group.

Meanwhile, Iraq's ruling Revolutionary Command Council issued a statement saying it had released an unspecified number of Iranian POWs to mark a Muslim feast and inviting more Iranians to defect.