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Iraq
Iran fires artillery into Iraq, captures 7 border guards
2006-09-11
BAGHDAD — Iran has shelled Iraq and captured seven of its soldiers in an escalation of ongoing skirmishes.

Iraqi officials said the Iran Army fired artillery shells into Iraq last week and captured seven soldiers northeast of Baghdad.

This was the most serious incident between Iran and Iraq in 2006. Last year, Iraq reported Iranian Navy clashes with Iraqi patrols.
On Saturday, the Iraqi Defense Ministry reported the Iranian capture of seven members of an Iraqi border patrol. The ministry said the Iraqis were detained while they were stationed at the Hankin border terminal near Haila. The ministry said an investigation has been launched.

In August, Kurdish officials in Iraq said the Iran Army shelled suspected insurgency strongholds in northern Iraq.

Iran has acknowledged fighting along the border. The state-owned Iranian news agency Irna said on Sept. 7 that Iran captured seven Iraqi soldiers who crossed into Iran's Ilam province.

"The reason for their infiltration is under investigation," Irna quoted an Iranian security source as saying.

But Iraqi officials later said Iran provoked the clashes by firing artillery shells into Iraq on Sept. 6. They reported artillery strikes near the Iraqi town of Mandali, 100 kilometers from Baghdad.

On Sept. 7, officials said, an Iraqi border patrol spotted an Iranian outpost in Iraqi territory. A clash ensued and the seven Iraqi soldiers were captured and taken into Iran, they said.

The fighting came on the eve of a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to Teheran. Al Maliki was to have flown to Iran last week, but the visit was postponed.
Posted by:anonymous5089

#9  Guess its official > IRAQ = the OTHER FUTURE RADICAL IRANIAN PROVINCE/PROXY STATE, like Lebanon, Syria, and rest of ME.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2006-09-11 21:41  

#8  Reporters always site activity relative to Baghdad becasue it sound so much more impressive than saying "Northeast of my hotel."

Little known fact: the bar is located on the northeast side of the lounge of every hotel inside the Green Zone.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-09-11 20:22  

#7  Reporters always site activity relative to Baghdad becasue it sound so much more impressive than saying "Northeast of my hotel."
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-09-11 20:18  

#6  They were THAT DEEP into Iraq? Where the hell were our troops?

"Northeast of Baghdad" is rather like saying "northeast of Tennessee; it covers quite a bit of area. You can't expect reporters -- who have as much familiarity with the geography of Iraq as they do with, well, Tennessee -- to be any more precise.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2006-09-11 20:08  

#5  Anybody have any clue what these guys were doing there? As far as I know, they haven't even stated what they were doing there, let alone the actual reason they were there. Scouting missions?
Posted by: gorb   2006-09-11 17:48  

#4  It must have been in the autonomous Kudish area.
Posted by: Apostate   2006-09-11 17:03  

#3  Iraqi officials said the Iran Army fired artillery shells into Iraq last week and captured seven soldiers northeast of Baghdad.

They were THAT DEEP into Iraq? Where the hell were our troops?
Posted by: Charles   2006-09-11 16:43  

#2  Hit back with nukes.
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-09-11 16:36  

#1  hit back. soon.
Posted by: Frank G   2006-09-11 16:20  

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