BAGHDAD — Iran has been smuggling anti-aircraft missiles
for attacks on the U.S. military in Iraq.
Officials said the U.S. military has found Mishagh-1 surface-to-air
missile system in Iraq.
U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Mark Fox said U.S. combat units have
seized several Mishagh-1 systems in Iraq. In a briefing on Sept. 23, Fox did
not say
whether the Iranian SAM system was used against U.S. or Iraqi aircraft.
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Officials said Mishagh-1 was manufactured in Iran and resembled a
Soviet-origin shoulder-fired anti-aircraft system, Middle East Newsline reported. They said Mishagh-1 was
unveiled and tested in an exercise by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
exercise in 2006.
The Mishagh was described as an indigenous
man-portable Iranian air defense weapon equipped with an infrared guidance
system.
In his briefing, Fox said U.S. troops discovered Iranian weapons caches
throughout Iraq. He said the caches included RPG-29 rocket-propelled
grenades, 240 mm rockets and explosively-formed penetrators.
"In recent months, we have seen Iran smuggle advanced weaponry into
Iraq, including RPG-29s, explosively-formed penetrators, 240 mm rockets, and
the Misagh-1 surface-to-air, man-transportable surface-to-air missile," Fox
said.
On Sept. 22, an EFP, designed to penetrate U.S. armored vehicles, was
detonated and killed a U.S. soldier in eastern Baghdad. Earlier, an Iranian
240 mm rocket was fired toward the main U.S. headquarters base in Iraq and
one person was killed.
