Thursday, May 10, 2007
U.S. military blames Iran for arming Sunni insurgents
Security, Iran
(AP) - A U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday that Shiite-dominated Iran is providing support to some Sunni insurgents fighting American forces in Iraq. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military had credible intelligence to support the allegation but did not elaborate. He said the support to Sunni insurgents was limited to select groups, which he did not identify.
"It's not all Sunni insurgents but rather we do know that there is a direct awareness by Iranian intelligence officials that they are providing support to some select Sunni insurgent elements," Caldwell told reporters. On Sunday, a U.S. general also said powerful armor-penetrating roadside bombs believed to be of Iranian origin were turning up in the hands of Sunni insurgents south of Baghdad.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's Task Force Marne, said the presence of "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs, in Sunni weapons caches suggests some degree of Iranian influence among Sunni as well as Shiite extremists. But Lynch, whose command covers the southern rim of Baghdad and mostly Shiite areas to the south, said it was unclear whether the Iranians were supplying the weapons directly or whether the Sunnis were buying them on the black market.
Caldwell said the weapons issue was still being investigated, but "we do know that they're providing support in terms of financial support at this point." U.S. military officials have been saying for months that the Iranians were supplying EFPs to Shiite militias, despite strong denials by Tehran. Some Sunni insurgent groups are strongly anti-Iranian, blaming the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government for helping Iran expand its influence here.
"It's not all Sunni insurgents but rather we do know that there is a direct awareness by Iranian intelligence officials that they are providing support to some select Sunni insurgent elements," Caldwell told reporters. On Sunday, a U.S. general also said powerful armor-penetrating roadside bombs believed to be of Iranian origin were turning up in the hands of Sunni insurgents south of Baghdad.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's Task Force Marne, said the presence of "explosively formed penetrators," or EFPs, in Sunni weapons caches suggests some degree of Iranian influence among Sunni as well as Shiite extremists. But Lynch, whose command covers the southern rim of Baghdad and mostly Shiite areas to the south, said it was unclear whether the Iranians were supplying the weapons directly or whether the Sunnis were buying them on the black market.
Caldwell said the weapons issue was still being investigated, but "we do know that they're providing support in terms of financial support at this point." U.S. military officials have been saying for months that the Iranians were supplying EFPs to Shiite militias, despite strong denials by Tehran. Some Sunni insurgent groups are strongly anti-Iranian, blaming the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government for helping Iran expand its influence here.
Labels: EFPs, explosively formed penetrators, Iran, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, Major General William Caldwell, Sunni insurgents
Friday, May 04, 2007
Al Masri not dead
Insurgency
(Middle East Times) - The US military killed a senior Al Qaeda figure this week in Iraq but the dead man was not the group's chief as was claimed by Iraqi officials, spokesman Major General William Caldwell said Thursday. Caldwell told reporters that US forces killed Al Qaeda in Iraq's "senior information minister," whom he identified as Muharib Abdel Latif Al Juburi, early Tuesday just north of Baghdad.
The militant played key roles in the kidnapping and murder of US peace activist Tom Fox in 2005 and the nearly three-month abduction of US journalist Jill Carroll in 2006 among other high profile actions, Caldwell said. Previously, Iraqi officials had reported that the dead militant was Abu Ayyub Al Masri, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But Caldwell said that US officials would have immediately been able to identify Masri's corpse, and that they were positive that they had in fact killed Juburi, a lesser but still senior figure. "We killed him on a target objective at 1.42 am west of Taji May 1," Caldwell said.
Al Qaeda itself confirmed the US version of events in an Internet message. "We announce news of the martyrdom of the sheikh and fighter Abu Abdullah Al Juburi," the Islamic State in Iraq, an alliance of Sunni groups headed by the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda, said on a known jihadi Web site. "Our guide Abu Omar Al Baghdadi is well," it added.
Potentially more damaging than the killing of Muharib Abdel Latif was the announcement that three Iraqi insurgent groups had joined forces in an explicit challenge to Al-Qaeda's umbrella group, the Islamic State in Iraq.
"In order to confront local, regional, and international challenges, an agreement has been concluded between three groups, the Islamic Army in Iraq, the Army of the Mujahideen, and the Ansar al-Sunna to form a united front," the group said in a statement posted on a jihadi website. Many experts believe the announcement of a new alliance between Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic Army points to a deepening rivalry among Islamists in the Sunni insurgency and a serious challenge to Al-Qaeda's Iraqi franchise.
This new front "is no friend of America, or of democracy in Iraq -- but, should it succeed, it will present an existential political threat to the future of Al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Evan Kohlmann, an expert on jihadi movements.
There have been unconfirmed reports in the Arabic press of clashes between these rival insurgent groups and the Islamic Army has released statements appealing to Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden to rein in his Iraqi branch. At the heart of the conflict between the movements is Al-Qaeda's attacks on civilians and those they disagree with rather than just against US forces. Hating Al-Qaeda does not mean liking the Iraqi government, and these insurgent groups still remain opposed to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
"In order to confront local, regional, and international challenges, an agreement has been concluded between three groups, the Islamic Army in Iraq, the Army of the Mujahideen, and the Ansar al-Sunna to form a united front," the group said in a statement posted on a jihadi website. Many experts believe the announcement of a new alliance between Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic Army points to a deepening rivalry among Islamists in the Sunni insurgency and a serious challenge to Al-Qaeda's Iraqi franchise.
This new front "is no friend of America, or of democracy in Iraq -- but, should it succeed, it will present an existential political threat to the future of Al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Evan Kohlmann, an expert on jihadi movements.
There have been unconfirmed reports in the Arabic press of clashes between these rival insurgent groups and the Islamic Army has released statements appealing to Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden to rein in his Iraqi branch. At the heart of the conflict between the movements is Al-Qaeda's attacks on civilians and those they disagree with rather than just against US forces. Hating Al-Qaeda does not mean liking the Iraqi government, and these insurgent groups still remain opposed to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Labels: Abu Ayyub Al Masri, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Major General William Caldwell, Muharib Abdel Latif Al Juburi
