Three Major Terror Busts in Iraq -- Iran, Syria Connections Exposed, Say U.S. Officials

ABC News ^ | 3-22-07 | Brian Ross

[ikez78]

U.S. forces have arrested the two leaders of the network believed responsible for the brazen raid in Karbala by terrorists disguised as Americans, in which five U.S. soldiers were kidnapped and later killed in January, U.S. military officials said today.

In operations over the past several days in Basra and Hillah, coalition forces captured Qais Khazali, his brother Laith Khazali and several other members of the Khazali network, a splinter faction of the Mahdi army.

Senior U.S. military sources tell ABC News that hard evidence linking the Khazalis to the Karbala raid, including the ID cards of several of the dead American soldiers, was recovered at the scene.

Click Here for Photos of Deadly Explosive Devices.

The coalition also found evidence linking the men to Iran and to an arms smuggling operation that included the high impact Explosively Formed Projectiles, or EFPs, according to U.S. officials.

[Enchante]

Yeah, but Joe Wilson says none of that is true...... he asked his fellow French spies and they assured him that Saddam was a great humanitarian who would never associate with terrorists.

[Jet Jaguar]

Carl Levin Calls for Attacks On Syria. Admits Al-Qaeda In Iraq & Troops Need to Stay

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1792200/posts?page=23#23

[pleikumud]

The United States should commence bombing immediately, to destroy Iran's oil pipelines and nuclear development sites, to castrate Iran's leaders while the world watches, stunned. Let the world's tin-horned dictators and socialists (including Pelosi & Co., Kennedy, Kerry, Putin, Leahy, Biden, Schumer...) scream. The world will respect the power of the United States, and freedom will be secured.

[Stultis]

Officials declined to name the individual or describe the location of the camps in Syria.

I'd think the only acceptable description of "the location of the camps in Syria" would be: "in the now vaporized center of massive, smoking craters."

[John123]

This brings up a good question. Can our military charge and judge these guys or do we have to turn them over to face Iraqi justice?

[Keflavik76]

You could make the argument that President Bush was right about the war, but botched the public relations aspect of it, or blame the constant negative dripping of the hysterical mainstream media for the wide perception of a WMD debacle. The media will never be fair in their coverage of President Bush because he is a plausible conservative and he doesn't govern by polls but by what he thinks is right.

[ohioWfan]

And the good news from Iraq keeps pouring in.....

[ohioWfan]

His bungling of the war and his inarticulate response to the WMD debacle has ruined his credibility

I see we have a New York Times aficionado here. Watch CNN too, do we??

Or is this a joke and you forgot the sarcasm tags?

[JamminJAY]

Slowly but surely the meat grinder turns.

Jammer

[free_life]

>Prelude to a US missile attack on terror camps inside Syria, >perhaps? One can only hope...

Long...long...long over due......

[popdonnelly]

We need to find out where this training takes place. Then the folks there need to meet with a bad accident.

[popdonnelly]

Joe Wilson was a left wing sell-out back in his college days, and he's a left wing sell-out now.

[Marine_Uncle]

Perhaps the little lion will be told yet again to close the damn camps down. I bet those that we talked about surronding the city of Allepo are still operative. The Syrian are nothing more then a bunch of jackels to say the best of them.
It this administration was seriouse it should have told Shell Oil not to do any further business in Syria until the goofs start to cooperate. If anything. Perhaps some big business execs would get on the phone and tell Assad to stop shitting around. Money talks.

[SCPatriot77]

I'm no skeptic as to Iran and Syria's involvement in IZ. But those of you who have been over there or had military experience around munitions- please look at the abc.com photo slideshow associated with this article.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/popup?id=1693355

The article only discusses the use of imported EFP's which are nonetheless deadly, but crudely constructed, as shown in the photos.

Do those 81mm mortars and RPG rounds look authentic?

First, they appear freshly painted and very clean for anything I ever saw in Iraq. Possibly they were just removed from their shipping crates. But I've never seen any munitions with the lot number listed as the actual Month-Date-Year.

Second, would Syrian/Iranian weapons manufacturers mark munitions with English abbreviations? For example, why are the RPGs labeled "HE" (high-explosive)?

Third, the mortar rounds have an unusual font, as compared to anything I have ever seen.

Discussion?????????
Thanks.

[mystery-ak]

The General's plan is working....HOO'AH

[AwesomePossum]

(Liberals: If the Truth would help them, they would use it.)

The BEST tag line so far..........it's pure poetry........

:}

[jhpigott]

ping

[rlmorel]

Why thank you...I thought that up myself! (LOL...I think...I might be like George Harrison in his plagarization trial...

When you actually stop to think about it, it is pretty incisive.

In that case, I probably didn't make it up...hard to cut a steak with a butter knife...:)