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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| IRGC backing Shi'ite, Sunni insurgents |
| 2005-10-06 |
| BRITISH officials yesterday accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of supplying the lethal explosive technology responsible for killing British solders in Iraq. American and British intelligence chiefs have long suspected that Iran was training, supplying and funding part of Iraq's insurgent Shia network but this is the first official confirmation of such action. A senior British official said there was evidence the Iranians were now in contact with Sunni Muslim insurgents fighting the coalition forces in Iraq. Recent attacks on British troops, believed to be the work of Shi'ite militia groups, had used armour-piercing explosives and infra-red controls "which basically you would need specific expertise to use". He said the Iranian action could be an attempt to warn off Britain over its demands that Tehran should abandon its nuclear programme. "It would be entirely natural that they would want to send a message 'Don't mess with us'. It would not be outside the policy parameters of Tehran," the official said. He said it was believed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been responsible for supplying the explosives technology. A radio signal is used to arm the bomb as a target vehicle approaches. The device is detonated when the infra-red beam is broken. Coalition officials view the weapon as a key part of an aggressive new campaign by Tehran to drive coalition forces out of Iraq so that an Islamic theocracy can be established. A Sunday newspaper reported in August that four British soldiers had been killed by infra-red devices made in the town of Majar-al-Kabir, but for security reason the Ministry of Defence refuses to confirm the nature of the bomb used. The previous month, three soldiers from the Staffordshire Regiment were killed when their armoured Land Rover was blown up by a roadside bomb in Amara. A guardsman of the Coldstream Guards was said to have died from wounds inflicted by a similar infra-red device in Amara in May. As the "top cover" gunner, the guardsman's head and shoulders were exposed in an armoured Land Rover. The bomb was set at a precise height and directed towards the road so it would hit a soldier in this position. "This was something completely new," said one military intelligence officer. "Before, they used to keep bashing away with the same crude devices. The Iranian influence has shown itself in the sophistication of their bombs and a new ability to innovate." The British official refused to be drawn yesterday on whether the IRGC were acting on government orders in Tehran. Although Iran is Shia Muslim, the official said it now appeared that elements in Tehran were in contact with Sunni Muslim insurgent groups across the border in Iraq. Sunni Muslims linked to al Qaeda have been blamed for trying to ignite a civil war with the majority Shias. The official said he still believed it could suit Iranian interests to work with the Sunni insurgents. "There is some evidence that the Iranians are in contact with Sunni groups," he said. "If part of the aim was to tie down the coalition in Iraq, it would be entirely consistent with supporting those groups." British diplomats had previously protested to the Iranian government after the seizure of arms being smuggled across the border into Iraq. "We continue to press Iran on that and we continue to encourage the Iraqi government to do that," the official said. A British Foreign Office spokesman said: "Iranian links to militant groups are unacceptable and undermine Iran's long-term interest in a secure, stable and democratic Iraq." The Herald revealed almost two weeks ago that two British Special Reconnaissance Regiment troopers rescued from Mehdi Army militia captors in Basra were gathering evidence against an Iraqi police group suspected of involvement in the deaths of British soldiers. According to sources, their surveillance target was the Jamiat Gang, a band of 50 civilian police officers operating under cover of Basra's serious crimes unit and the internal affairs directorate. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 The stage is being set for you Mullahs, we're coming to get you. EP |
| Posted by: ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding 2005-10-06 16:06 |