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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47428
ranian-Made Mortar Likely Used in Recent Attack, General Says
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2007 – A mortar that killed a coalition servicemember and injured 12 when it detonated earlier this week at a coalition operating base likely was manufactured in Iran, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said yesterday. (Video)
“Our explosive ordnance experts assessed (that) it is consistent with the rockets of Iranian origin we have seen used in other attacks,” Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters during a briefing in Baghdad.
The general said experts matched distinctive markings on mortar fragments collected Sept. 11 from the impact site to unfired Iranian-made 240 mm rockets recovered in August. Such munitions are unique to Iranian manufacturing facilities, he added.
Bergner alleged that operatives of Jaysh al-Mahdi, the militant arm of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, launched the 240 mm mortar from western part of Baghdad’s Rashid district. “(This) is a weapon these groups have received from Iranian groups in the past and recently used in other attacks against coalition forces,” he said.
“We know that some of the elements of Jaysh al-Mahdi rely on Iranian sources of funding, training and weapons like this,” he continued. “Unfortunately, (Iran’s) support is continuing to undermine the security and stability of Iraq at an important moment when some here are trying to reduce the violence and improve security.”
The mortar attack occurred in defiance of Sadr’s pledge on Aug. 24 to suspend offensive operations against coalition forces and citizens. Though coalition forces have seen a reduction in attacks previously associated with Sadr’s followers, some members, like the perpetrators of the mortar attack, are “disrespecting Sadr’s commitment by continuing attacks,” Bergner said.
The general added that U.S. forces embrace Sadr’s dedication to isolating dissident Jaysh al-Mahdi members “who discredit his pledge of honor.”
“The multinational force will continue to support the government of Iraq in welcoming the pledge by Moqtada al-Sadr to stop attacks,” Bergner said. “And we will show restraint in dealing with his followers who uphold this commitment.
“However, Iraqi and coalition forces will not show the same restraint against criminals who continue to target civilians and security forces,” he said.
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47430
Assassination Bolsters Resolve Against al Qaeda, Iraqi Spokesman Says
By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2007 – Today’s assassination of an influential Sunni leader whose followers have been helping fight al Qaeda in Iraq will only bolster the war on insurgents, a chief spokesman of the Iraqi government said today.
Ali Aldabbagh spoke with online journalists and “bloggers” via a conference call from Baghdad just hours after a roadside bomb exploded outside the farm of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, killing the sheik and two of his aides.
Sattar was a “very brave man” who “took the lead to protect the al Anbar and all the worst areas at a time when everybody was afraid and scared of even talking against al Qaeda,” Aldabbagh said.
Sattar led a group known as the Anbar Salvation Council. His followers sparked the so-called “Anbar awakening movement,” during which Sunnis committed to join with coalition forces to seek peace and prosperity in the region.
The sheik was among a group of tribal leaders who met with President Bush on Labor Day at Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province. Sattar also participated in the Ramadi Reconstruction Conference along with leaders of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and Multinational Force West this spring.
“The time for dictatorship is gone, and we are welcoming the new dawn of democracy and freedom here,” the sheik said during the conference.
Sattar’s Abu Resha tribe and other Sunni tribes increasingly have turned to coalition forces to help crush al Qaeda insurgents in the region.
Aldabbagh said he spoke with several tribal leaders associated with Sheik Sattar shortly after today’s assassination. He said the killings “will not affect them, will not influence them” but will only motivate Sunnis in the region to fight even harder against al Qaeda insurgents.
“They have to continue in order to protect their region from any such terrorist groups,” he said.
(David Mays works in New Media at American Forces Information Service.)