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Iran ambushes Mujahadeen squad near border with Iraq

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Tuesday, May 1, 2001

NICOSIA — Iran claims continued success in its war against the Baghdad-based opposition.

The Iranian military reported that it foiled an attack by the Muhajadeen Khalq insurgency group over the weekend. A military statement in Teheran said Iranian troops detected and ambushed the Mujahadeen squad in the border area with Iraq.

Eight out of the nine members of the Mujahadeen squad were killed, the statement said. A ninth was captured.

The military said it seized weapons and ammunition in the attack. The statement said the Mujahadeen squad intended to infiltrate Iran's mountainous region south of Khosrowi.

In all, a military source said, more than 70 Mujahadeen members have been killed since March 21.

The Mujahadeen acknowledged the clash but did not confirm reports on casualties. Instead, the group issued a statement that more than 100 Iranian troops were killed or injured in what it termed was a series of clashes in the province of Kermanshah.

Iran claims to have destroyed all of the Mujahadeen bases inside Iraq. The bases were destroyed in an Iranian missile attack on April 18 in which Teheran was said to have fired 66 Scuds.

Brig. Gen. Nasser Mohammadifar, the chief of Iranian ground forces, said the military has deployed several thousand armored vehicles to handle any attack from Iraq. The general said Mujahadeen bases near the Iranian border contain tanks, heavy guns, and helicopter gunships.

"Iran has repeatedly said it will respect the integrity of Iraqi territory," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said. "But this should not be interpreted as allowing borders to be disrespected, or terrorist aggression, or attacks on the Iranian people."

Western defense sources, however, are skeptical over whether Iran fired Scuds. The sources said Iran is believed to have no more than 200 Scud B and 150 Scud C missiles.

Instead, the sources said, Iran probably used a tactical rocket. The most likely candidate is the Nazeat, with a range of 150 kilometers.

Tuesday, May 1, 2001

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