BBC- Breaking News: US accuses Iran over Iraq bombs - accused the "highest levels" of Iran

BBC ^ | Sunday, 11 February 2007, 14:07 GMT | BBC Staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

US accuses Iran over Iraq bombs

The US military has accused the "highest levels" of Iran's government of supplying increasingly sophisticated roadside bombs to Iraq's insurgents.

Senior defence officials told reporters in Baghdad that the bombs were being used to deadly effect, killing more than 170 US troops since June 2004.

The weapons known as "explosively formed projectiles" (EFPs) are capable of destroying an Abrams tank.

US claims the bombs were smuggled from Iran cannot be independently verified.

The US officials, speaking off camera on condition of anonymity, said that EFPs had also injured more than 620 US personnel since June 2004.

They said US intelligence analysts believed the bombs were manufactured in Iran and secretly sent into Iraq on the orders of senior officials in Tehran.

The US has claimed in the past that Iranian weapons were being used in Iraq, but have never before accused Iranian government officials of being directly involved.

Truck bomb

In the latest violence in Iraq , at least 15 people were killed when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle laden with explosives into a police station near the town of Tikrit.

At least 25 people were injured in the attack on the station in Adwar, about 175km (110 miles) north of Baghdad.

The casualties are reported to include prisoners held in cells at the police station, as well as civilian visitors.

Elsewhere, the US military said it was checking a report that an Apache helicopter had come down near the town of near Taji, about 20km (12 miles) north of Baghdad.

The blast at the police station happened at about 0800 (1100GMT) as police were arriving for work, Capt Abdel-Samad Mohammed was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

The bomber drove a small truck that was packed with explosives covered by hay, and the force of the blast caused the building to collapse, the officer said.

[leadpenny]

We must have checked BBC at about the same time. They leave the BN headers up for only a short time.

[Future Snake Eater]

Finally. What took so long? My lead Stryker got hit with one of these. Thankfully, God was with us, and everyone came away unscathed, but so many have been killed by these things...

Iran had better pay dearly for their supplying of these weapons to the Shi'ites.

[EyeGuy]

A clear act of war.

So when do we attack Tehran?

[neodad]

Let's get it on!

[hershey]

So how long does Iran get to do this with impunity?

[mainepatsfan]

How long before the first Dem attacks this accusation?

[2111USMC]

Why is the media just now talking about this?

I'm glad they are, but it seems to me that we were reading about this on FR more than a year ago. The use of these Iranian shaped charges is well known.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

US claims the bombs were smuggled from Iran cannot be independently verified.

Ernest, you know the Rats already have this covered..."how can we believe this intelligence when it was lies that got us into Iraq to begin with." That's going to be the Rat line. This is going to be used by them as a prime reason why we need to cut and run and "redeploy" out of Iraq in defeat.

Any action against Iran will lead to Bush being impeached (he'll never get a vote in Congress, and they will demand it even if the Constitution doesn't require it). Anti-war fervor and publicity is too high -- we'll have Rat inspired violence in our own streets if any action is taken against Iran. They know this, they know we now have a politically-crippled President at home, so they act with impunity.

[KarlInOhio]

So how long does Iran get to do this with impunity?

9961 days so far. (11/4/1979 to now).

[bnelson44]

U.S.-led forces show evidence of Iran arms in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq presented on Sunday what officials said was "a growing body" of evidence of Iranian weapons being used to kill coalition soldiers.

A senior defence official from the Multi-National Force told a briefing that 170 coalition personnel had been killed by roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) that he said were manufactured in Iran and smuggled into Iraq.

U.S. officials say Iran is fanning violence in Iraq by giving sophisticated bomb-making technology, money and training to Shi'ite groups who are attacking U.S. and British troops. Tehran denies the charge.

In Baghdad, journalists were shown fragments of what the defence official said were Iranian-made weapons, including one part of an EFP and tail fins from 81-mm and 60-mm mortar bombs.



"The weapons had characteristics unique to being manufactured in Iran ... Iran is the only country in the region that produces these weapons," the defence official said.

Officials also said Iran had "multiple" surrogate groups operating in Iraq that were using the EFPs.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-02-11T141023Z_01_YAT150178_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-IRAN-WEAPONS.xml

[Basheva]

This is only one more in a long line of "clear acts of war" by Iran.

The first was entering, despoiling and taking over our Embassy and holding our Ambassador and the diplomatic staff hostage.

That has been an act of war for a 1000 years.

Killing our soldiers is simply another in a series of acts of war.

This will not stop until we act decisively - not a couple of cruse missles - at night - to kill the cleaning staff in some government building.

A response as Reagan did to Quadafi of Libya - right through the tent which is then followed by taking out all the government and military installations throughout the country.

Or we can wait until they perfect their nuclear bombs - they already have the missles to deliver the bombs.

Yes, that's it - let's wait.

What's on TV today?

Shall we get one or two large pizzas today?

Exactly what is Paris Hilton doing today?

Who is the latest American Idol?

Which way is Trump combing his hair this week?

[mainepatsfan]

Heck the Iranians could send their troops into Iraq to attack ours and the Dems would point to it as proof we need to pull out immediately.

[CaptSkip]

So when do we attack Tehran?

~ 18 March 2007.

New moon...Two US Carrier battle groups and various Guided Missile Ships in place, along with unknown # of boomers..."surge" troops will have arrived...Patraeus up-to-speed...more supporting anti-Iran info will have been presented to the world. (FWIW)

[melancholy]

Bomb the mullahs now! They're killing our troops with impunity.

The terrorist community and the world should understand that they can't attack the only superpower without paying a VERY steep price.

The snake's head should be cut off, YESTERDAY, before the RATs and the rest of the enemy within force a defeat on this nation.

[EyeGuy]

"This is only one more in a long line of "clear acts of war" by Iran."


I'm well aware of that.

Perhaps I should have said this is ANOTHER in a series of clear acts of war dating back to the seizure of our embassy in 1979.

[Tax Government]

All I want for Ramadan is Ahmadinejad's head on a pike.

[freepersup]

[Basheva]

*****Perhaps I should have said this is ANOTHER in a series of clear acts of war dating back to the seizure of our embassy in 1979.****

Thank you for the response. I'm sure you did know that - but I repeated it because I'm not sure everyone does remember.

[Newbomb Turk]

Lord how I wish Ronald Reagan was my President at this exact moment in time.

"The bombing will commmence in 5 minutes"