US forces detain Iraqi gang 'smuggling bombs from Iran'

[Barrett808]

Source: AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US forces seized six militants in the Iraqi capital on Friday accused of smuggling sophisticated explosive devices into the war-torn country from Iran, the US military said.

"Coalition forces are targeting the terrorists, searching them out in the places they hide," said US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Garver in a statement.

"This morning's operation is one more step in removing the terrorist networks from Iraq," he added.

The detainees are accused of being part of a secret network that smuggled weapons into Iraq, including bombs that fire a projectile of molten metal capable of slicing through American armoured vehicles.

US officials have repeatedly said that the devices, which the military calls "explosively formed penetrators" or EFPs, are supplied to insurgent groups by elements within the Iranian armed forces.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070518/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestiran

[tchunter]

1. EFP's are devastatingly simple...

its just explosives, a drain pipe and a copper sheet, it doesn't need to be smuggled into the country, all of the materials are readily available in Iraq. Just seems like the ratcheting up tensions with Iran. Which insurgent groups are being supplied/trained? If its the predominantly Sunni insurgency then its more likely that the hardware is coming from the MEK in Iran rather than the gov't. Why can't we try to build strategic relations with Iran; were not talking about a fragmented population like in Iraq, Iranians have a strong sense of country and persian nationalism. Any aggression would turn the moderates and reformers into ardent supporters of the theocracy.

[Barrett808]

2. Welcome to DU, tc !

:hi:

[WCGreen]

3. Saying that It is " elements within the Iranian armed forces" make much

more sense than saying it is Iran supplying the insurgents....

We all know that in most third world countries that the armed forces act from their own base of power that is often at odds with what the traditional government wants or agrees with...

It has always been that way until the US put the military under civilian control...

Believe it or not, that is probably the single most important trait of our democracy and what sets us apart from most other countries in the world...

But of course Bush and his minions view the world through red, white and blue glasses...

In other words, the boy just doesn't understand or, worse yet, doesn't trust the American people to grasp the fact other countries are not like ours...

In the US, when the Armed Forces take action, it is almost certain that they are following civilian orders...

In other countries, such as Iran, the Armed Forces more than likely, operate without the permission or expressed knowledge of the civilian leadership....

So to say that Iran is arming the insurgents is just wrong and does nothing but inflame the ignorant on both sides of the border...