''My name is Anas Ahmed al-Essa. I live in Halab. I am from Syria,'' he said by way of introduction - naming what he said was his home in Syria. Halab is another name for Aleppo, a city north of Damascus.

''What's your job?'' he was asked by someone off-camera. ''I am a lieutenant in intelligence.''

Then a second question. ''Which intelligence?'' The reply: ''Syrian intelligence.''

So began a detailed confession broadcast by al-Iraqiya TV on Wednesday, in which the man, identified as 30-year-old Lt. Anas Ahmed al-Essa, said his group was recruited to ''cause chaos in Iraq . . . to bar America from reaching Syria.''

''We received all the instructions from Syrian intelligence,'' said the man, who appeared in the propaganda video along with 10 Iraqis who said they had also been recruited by Syrian intelligence officers.

Syria denied the claims that the detained insurgents had received training in the country or that it was sending armed men to Iraq.

Al-Iraqiya later aired another round of interviews with men it said were Sudanese and Egyptians who also trained in Syria to carry out attacks in Iraq.

The claims could not be independently authenticated.

An Iraqi special forces commander, Brig. Gen. Abu Al-Walid, said his forces arrested the men in Mosul on Jan. 29, one day before the national elections.

He said they included eight Syrians, one Lebanese, 12 Egyptians and 10 Sudanese.

He said the men had explosives, weapons and maps for balloting centers in Mosul.

On Thursday, Iraqi police arrested four other suspected terrorists in Baghdad - two Syrians and two Iraqis.