Captured Iranian agent identified, 15 Special Groups operatives captured in Iraq

The Long War Journal ^ | September 30, 2007 9:14 PM | Bill Roggio

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Multinational Forces Iraq and the Iraqi military continue to attack the Iranian-backed Special Groups while interdicting weapons flowing from the neighboring country. Fifteen members of the Special Groups were captured in Baghdad on Sunday. The US military has disclosed the identity of the Qods Force officer captured in the northern Kurdish province of Sulimaniyah on September 20, and has stated Iran is sending portable surface-to-air missiles to Shia insurgents.

During a Sunday press briefing in Baghdad, Rear Admiral Mark Fox identified Mahmudi Farhadi as the Iranian Qods Force officer captured in Sulimaniyah. Farhadi is the sixth Qods Force officer that the US has announced is in custody. Five senior Qods Force officers were captured in Irbil in January 2007.

Iran closed the northern border immediately after Farhadi was captured, claiming he was a businessman. "I find it hard to believe that they would close the border for a businessman," Fox said.

Fox also stated Iran has supplied the Special Groups with Misagh-1 man-portable surface-to-air missiles. The Special Groups is a terrorist organization trained, funded, and supplied by Iran and is set up on the lines of Lebanese Hezbollah by the Qods Force.

"We've said that we've found these things [the Misagh 1 missiles], we've seen them employed," Fox said. The Misagh-1 design is based on the Chinese made QW-1, which "caught the attention of foreign media and research institutions when it was first introduced to the public [at an air show in 1994] because it was claimed to surpass the US Stinger in maximum effective range, target seeker tracking capability, warhead power and other indicators," according to Global Security.

It is unclear if the Misagh-1s have been successful in downing US or allied aircraft. The investigation into the downing of a British Lynx helicopter in Basra in May 2006 found that a "lucky shot" with an RPG was the cause of the crash.

[geezerwheezer]

IMHO, the President isn’t the dummy the MSM says he is. I’m confident there are things underway we will not know anything about until it is over and done. That the CIA has built-in leakers, etc. notwithstanding, the Military doesn’t have that problem as much as other agencies do.

[Ben Hecks]

I didn’t see the movie but I found a review on the net to understand the context of your comment. Sounds like a good movie...I’ll look for it on the rental rack.

[IGOTMINE]

A Hungarian and a German figured it out in the 30’s.

Miznay-Schardin.

[wayoverontheright]

This is clearly an act of war, and should be treated as such. We have (weak!) attempted to separate the Iranian military from the Iranian government with our sanctions. It is time now to disinvest in this separation, and declare war on Iran, its military and its government.

The entire ME would sit on its hands if we were to attack Iran now that they have clearly meddled in Iraq, and given us a reason to attack them other than for their nuclear program.

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks, they may have been around awhile but these are especially damaging for their size and payload.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks E.

Rear Admiral Mark Fox identified Mahmudi Farhadi as the Iranian Qods Force officer captured in Sulimaniyah.

I'm sure he's just a legitimate diplomat from Iran. /sarc

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Explosively formed penetrator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

******************excerpt********************

A conventional shaped charge generally has a conical metal liner that projects a hypervelocity jet of metal able to penetrate to great depths into steel armour; however, in travel over some distance the jet breaks up along its length into particles that drift out of alignment, greatly diminishing its effectiveness at a distance.

An EFP, on the other hand, has a liner in the shape of a shallow dish.The force of the blast molds the copper plate into any of a number of configurations, depending on how the plate is formed and how the explosive is detonated^[2]. Sophisticated EFP warheads have multiple detonators that can be fired in different arrangements causing different types of waveform in the explosive, resulting in either a long-rod penetrator, an aerodynamic slug projectile or multiple high-velocity fragments. A less sophisticated approach for changing the formation of an EFP is the use of wire-mesh in front of the liner: with the mesh in place the liner will fragment into multiple penetrators.^[3].

In addition to single-penetrator EFPs (also called single EFPs or SEFPs), there are EFP warheads whose liners are designed to produce more than one penetrator; these are known as multiple EFPs, or MEFPs. The liner of an MEFP generally comprises a number of dimples that intersect each other at sharp angles. Upon detonation the liner fragments along these intersections to form up to dozens of small, generally spheroidal projectiles, producing an effect similar to that of a shotgun. The pattern of impacts on target can be finely controlled based on the design of the liner and the manner in which the explosive charge is detonated.

The (single) EFP generally remains intact and is therefore able to penetrate armour at long range, delivering a wide spray of fragments of liner material and vehicle armour backspall into the vehicle's interior, injuring its crew and damaging other systems^[4].

As a rule of thumb, an EFP will perforate a thickness of armour equal to only about the diameter of its charge, whereas a typical shaped charge will go through six or more diameters.

[elhombrelibre]

Iranians in Iraq ping.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Another item from the Google search:

Iranian-Made IEDs Are the Most Deadly U.S. Forces Have Seen--Jan 2007

**********************EXCERPTS***********************

The most deadly improvised explosive devices being used against U.S. soldiers in Iraq continue to come from Iran, and Iran continues to provide more tactical training, according to explosive experts working with the U.S. military.

The Iranian-made devices are known as EFPs, or Explosively Formed Projectiles. When exploded, the copper disc center becomes a molten liquid bullet that can penetrate the thickest armor the United States has.

Earlier this month, CIA Director General Michael Hayden told the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that the EFPs from Iran cause more casualties on an incident-for-incident basis than any other type of improvised explosive device.

EFPs are coming from Iran. They are being used against our forces," said Hayden. "They are capable of defeating some of our heaviest armor."

ABC News first reported on the use of EFPs last March when U.S. officials told ABC News that they discovered the link to Iran via tell-tale manufacturing signatures -- certain types of machine-shop welds and material indicating they are built by the same bomb factory.

more here

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/...nmade_ied.html

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the blog linked at post above:

**********************************EXCERPTS**************************

Yes to true. According to an ex RM that I used to work with he stated that the scary thing was though the AIF(insurgents) only took 2 years to master this craft where it took the IRA a quarter of a century to master.

The EFP is nothing new. It uses the Misznay and Schardin effect. Misznay and Schardin were Nazi scientists. Various movement through out the world have used them.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Earlier story on Iran's involvement:

Iran involvement suspected in Karbala compound attack - CNN.com

*****************EXCERPT**************************

Iran involvement suspected in Karbala compound attack

Story Highlights

• U.S. probing possible Iranian involvement in brazen compound raid
• Speculation centers on military branch known for taking revenge
• Iraq at "precarious juncture," State Department nominee says
• Bombs, gunfire and mortar attacks target Shiite pilgrims

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Pentagon is investigating whether a recent attack on a military compound in Karbala was carried out by Iranians or Iranian-trained operatives, two officials from separate U.S. government agencies said.

"People are looking at it seriously," one of the officials said.

That official added the Iranian connection was a leading theory in the investigation into the January 20 attack that killed five soldiers.

The second official said: "We believe it's possible the executors of the attack were Iranian or Iranian-trained."

Five U.S. soldiers were abducted and killed in the sophisticated attack by men wearing U.S.-style uniforms, according to U.S. military reports. ()

Both officials stressed the Iranian-involvement theory is a preliminary view, and there is no final conclusion. They agreed this possibility is being looked at because of the sophistication of the attack and the level of coordination.

"This was beyond what we have seen militias or foreign fighters do," the second official said.

The investigation has led some officials to conclude the attack was an "inside job" -- that people inside the compound helped the attackers enter unstopped.

Investigators are looking particularly at how the attackers got U.S.-style military uniforms and SUVs similar to those used by U.S. troops. ()

"'Who was behind it all?' was the fundamental question," the first official said.

The U.S. military on Friday confirmed accounts that the soldiers had been abducted and driven away from their compound. The military had said in a January 20 press release only that "five U.S. soldiers were killed and three wounded while repelling the attack."

Some Iraqis speculate that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out the attack in retaliation for the capture by U.S. forces of five of its members in Irbil, Iraq, on January 11, according to a Time.com article published Tuesday. (Read the article)

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has a reputation for taking harsh and unrelenting revenge on its enemies, the Time.com article says.

The five Iranians are still in U.S. custody.

[Gum Shoe]

“We caught them and shot them under Rule 303!” - Breaker Morant

A great movie about politicizing war. Should be Rule .223 in the current case.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This is a must read:

Ahmadinejad's overlooked message

*********************EXCERPT Intro**************************

During his visit to New York this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked every basic assumption upon which Western civilization is predicated. Ahmadinejad offered up his attacks while extolling his vision of Islamic global domination.

Refusing to note his existential challenge to the Free World, the Western media concentrated their coverage of his trip on his statements regarding specific Western policy goals. His rejection of the UN Security Council's authority to take action against Iran's illicit nuclear weapons program; his championing of the Palestinian cause and Israel's destruction; his denials of Iranian support for terrorism, and his attacks against the US were widely reported. So too, his insistence that Iranian women enjoy full rights and that there are no homosexuals in Iran received banner headlines.

Ahmadinejad gave two major addresses this week - at Columbia University and at the UN General Assembly. He devoted both to putting forward his vision for global Islamic domination. And while the Western media sought hidden meanings and signals for peaceful intentions in his words, the fact is that on both occasions, Ahmadinejad made absolutely clear that his vision of Islamic domination cannot coexist in any manner with Western civilization. Consequently, Ahmadinejad's statements were not negotiating stances. They were the direct consequence of the world view he propounds. As such, they are non-negotiable.

[Bahbah]

Thanks, Ernest. I did see this...and I think it is correct.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Re “Execute him”. Can’t. Columbia Un. is giving him an honorarium to speak on Iran-Iraq business opportunities.

Then Paul Krugman will interview him for the NY Slimes about the economic climate in the region.

The Democrats will want to give him a special work visa so that he can stay in the US and vote for them.

Need I say anything more?

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Re “Execute him”. Can’t. Columbia Un. is giving him an honorarium to speak on Iran-Iraq business opportunities.

Then Paul Krugman will interview him for the NY Slimes about the economic climate in the region.

The Democrats will want to give him a special work visa so that he can stay in the US and vote for them.

Need I say anything more?

[SandRat]

Squeeze him first for every drop of actionable intelligence, then...... have the Iraqis Saddam him.

[bert]

Read the article..... they are criminals.

Is hillary in charge? Are State Department lawyers going to prosecute them?

[bert]

Read the article..... they are criminals.

Is hillary in charge? Are State Department lawyers going to prosecute them?

[Marine_Uncle]

There is no way the Iranian government can get around the fact various weapons are being imported into Iraq to be used against the coalition and Iraqi forces and on some occasions to lob stuff into the green zone.
The mullahs seem so smug and safe in their fortified buildings.
They should consider if a air/ground war starts in their country they just may be hunted down by US/Israeli SOP teams. And any movements by their Qod forces will be meet with more JDAMs and other smart ordnance then they can imagine.