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Thursday, September 6, 2007      New: Take a Stand

Iran 'pouring in weapons, financing' to Sadr City

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has reported Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has established a network in Shi'ite sectors of Baghdad to help fuel the insurgency against the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. They said IRGC's Quds Force was helping train and equip Shi'ite and Sunni insurgents for operations against U.S. and Iraqi troops.

"IRGC has established a significant presence in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhoods, particularly in Sadr City," an official said. "They are pouring in weapons, financing and facilitating travel of insurgents to Iran for advanced training."

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On Wednesday, U.S. and Iraqi troops captured what officials termed a major Iranian operative in Iraq. The unidentified operative, arrested in Karbala, was identified as a Quds Force officer who helped establish a new Shi'ite militia in Baghdad and southern Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported.

"The detained individual is suspected of coordinating with high-level IRGC-QF officers for the transportation of multiple Iraqis to Iran for terrorist training at IRGC-QF training camps," a U.S. military statement said. "He is also a known logistics facilitator providing lethal aid to terrorists operating in central Baghdad."

Officials said the U.S. military has intensified efforts to capture IRGC officers in Iraq. They said IRGC has sent senior officers into Baghdad, Basra and Karbala to oversee the so-called Special Groups, which has been conducting bombings and other strikes against the U.S.-led coalition.

"It is likely that the affiliate is closely linked to individuals at the highest levels of the IRGC-QF," the military statement said of the latest arrest. "Coalition forces are still assessing his possible connection to the Special Groups."

Karbala has been under the responsibility of Multinational Force-Central, headed by U.S. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch. In August, Lynch said at least 50 IRGC officers were training insurgents in the use of mortars and rockets in his area of responsibility.

Officials said IRGC has brought weapons, explosively-formed penetrators, communications equipment and computers to oversee the insurgency network in Iraq. They said the U.S. military has captured documents and photographs that could identify other senior IRGC envoys in Iraq. Hundreds of Iranian operatives were said to be operating in Iraq.

"As Iran continues its proxy war against the people of Iraq, coalition forces will continue to build on recent operations to disrupt the flow of illicit, lethal materials from Iran into Iraq," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said. "The capture of individuals affiliated with the IRGC-Quds Force is an integral part of dismantling terror networks that seek to kill innocent Iraqis and security forces."

So far, the U.S. military has captured more than a dozen IRGC agents. The arrests began in January 2007, when five suspected Quds Force officers were captured. The officers remain in U.S. detention despite Iranian demands for their release.

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