Region | Iraq
Iraqi hit squads being trained in Iran, US says
Iraqi Shiite assassination teams are being trained in at least four locations in Iran by Tehran's elite Al Quds force and Lebanese Hezbollah and are planning to return to Iraq in the next few months to kill specific Iraqi officials as well as US and Iraqi troops, according to intelligence gleaned from captured militia fighters and other sources in Iraq.
- AP
- Published: 23:58 August 15, 2008
Washington: Iraqi Shiite assassination teams are being trained in at least four locations in Iran by Tehran's elite Al Quds force and Lebanese Hezbollah and are planning to return to Iraq in the next few months to kill specific Iraqi officials as well as US and Iraqi troops, according to intelligence gleaned from captured militia fighters and other sources in Iraq.
A senior US military intelligence officer in Baghdad described the information on Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
The officer on Wednesday provided Iraq's national security adviser with several lists of the assassination teams' expected targets. He said the targets include many judges but would not otherwise identify them. Iraq's intelligence service is preparing operations to determine where and when the special group fighters will enter the country and is to provide an assessment to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.
The US official acknowledged disclosing the information in an attempt to pressure Iran to suspend the training and prevent the militia fighters from returning to Iraq. The US military also wants the Iraqi government to take steps to protect the targets. "Wanted" posters picturing men believed to be heading the special groups are being posted around Baghdad, the military officer said.
The US also is encouraging the Iraqi government to confront Iran with the information in diplomatic channels, and it wants Iraq to continue pumping money into its own reconstruction. By building stability and Iraqis' confidence in their government, internal support for militia groups should decline, making it more difficult for them to operate.
The fighters are expected to return to Iraq between now and October, but the officer said there is no intelligence suggesting they are actually in Iraq yet. The information came from militia fighters captured in Iraq and other sources in the country that the officer would not describe.
Many of the fighters fled to Iran earlier this year after Iraqi government forces cracked down first on militia sanctuaries in Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City district, then in Amarah and now in Diyala province, the military officer said.
One of the reasons the US believes the special groups moved out during that period is the sharp decline in the number of deadly roadside bombs bearing Iran's signature explosive design. In March, there were 55 such attacks. By July, that number had dropped to around 18, the officer said. US intelligence believes those sophisticated bombs can be traced back to Iran.
Iran, Hezbollah's benefactor, denies giving any support to extremists in Iraq.
The officer said training is going on in at least four locations in Iran: Qom, Tehran, Ahvaz and Mashhad. The number of "special group criminals" - the US name for Iraqi fighters sponsored by Iran - is unknown but is estimated in the hundreds and possibly more than 1,000.
According to the officer, the training camps are operating under the direction of Quds force commander Brig Gen Gassem Soleimani, with the knowledge and approval of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The elite Al Quds Force is a branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
The training includes how to conduct reconnaissance to pinpoint targets, small arms and weapons training, small unit tactics and terrorist cell operations and communications. They are also learning how to use bombs packed with explosive penetrators that can rip through US armoured vehicles, along with other improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades.
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