Saturday, November 11, 2006
U.K. forces: Iran supplying weapons to insurgency
Security
Iran is sustaining the insurgency against British and American forces in Iraq by supplying terrorists with weapons and cash, senior military figures have claimed. Members of the 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards on a ‘rural patrol’ in Teeb Valley, Maysan Province. British forces are enduring daily bombardments of mortar bombs and rockets at their bases in Basra. The weapons are believed to be sponsored, funded and smuggled from Iran whose border is just over 10 miles from the southern Iraq capital.
Military sources have disclosed that there is "very, very strong intelligence" that elements inside Iran have continued to fund and support the gun-running. There is still no "concrete evidence", in part, it is claimed, because Iranian weapons are designed to be untraceable. In Basra, Iranian trucks could be seen going through customs with little hindrance from the Department of Border Enforcement.
Military sources have disclosed that there is "very, very strong intelligence" that elements inside Iran have continued to fund and support the gun-running. There is still no "concrete evidence", in part, it is claimed, because Iranian weapons are designed to be untraceable. In Basra, Iranian trucks could be seen going through customs with little hindrance from the Department of Border Enforcement.
Lt Col Simon Browne, the commanding officer of 2 Bn The Royal Anglians, who finished their tour of Iraq this week, said: "I'm sure there is outside influence here and it is from Iran. "It is clear the insurgents are getting resupply from somewhere. I would believe it comes from Iran, or at least comes from Iranian sources." While hundreds of rounds have landed on his troops, it would be nearly impossible to definitively prove that they had been manufactured in Iran because the country's arms industry has been "past masters" at hiding its fingerprints on weapons, according to an arms source who has connections with Teheran.
To try to prevent the influx of weapons, the British have put out long-range patrols along the 300-mile border in Maysan province in an attempt to catch smugglers. But the porous border, which includes thousands of miles of waterways where the Marsh Arabs live, has yet to yield a weapons cache that would point the finger at Iran's mullahs. Senior military commanders said they would not be surprised if Iran wanted to influence Iraq as it is a predominantly Shia state with strong ties to the new Baghdad government. American generals are particularly keen to stop the smuggling, which they say is responsible for providing insurgents with infrared triggers and new explosives that are capable of penetrating thick armour.
To try to prevent the influx of weapons, the British have put out long-range patrols along the 300-mile border in Maysan province in an attempt to catch smugglers. But the porous border, which includes thousands of miles of waterways where the Marsh Arabs live, has yet to yield a weapons cache that would point the finger at Iran's mullahs. Senior military commanders said they would not be surprised if Iran wanted to influence Iraq as it is a predominantly Shia state with strong ties to the new Baghdad government. American generals are particularly keen to stop the smuggling, which they say is responsible for providing insurgents with infrared triggers and new explosives that are capable of penetrating thick armour.
