Apology - Thamar Alsabhan

An article of 7 September reported allegations that Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Iraq, Thamar Alsabhan, had been expelled by the Iraqi government because he had failed to denounce a cousin who had died fighting for Isis. The Independent now understands that the person identified as a cousin of the ambassador is unrelated and unknown to him. Indeed, no member of the ambassador's family has ever fought with Isis or any other extremist organisation. As such, it is not the case that Mr Alsabhan has failed to denounce an individual fighting with Isis or has any connection through his family or otherwise with any extremist organisation . We apologise to Mr Alsabhan and regret any distress caused by the publication of the article and have agreed to make a donation to the UN Counter-Terrorism Center on his behalf. We are glad to have this opportunity to correct the record.