A military statement said nine gunmen were killed in a series of raids
in Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported. The statement said the detained IRGC officer facilitated the flow
of weapons from Iran to Iraq and their distribution to Shi'ite and other
militias.
Officials said IRGC has become a major U.S. target, particularly in the
Baghdad area.
"The captured high-priority individual was responsible for smuggling
explosively formed penetrators, Katyusha rockets and other weapons from Iran
into Iraq," an official said. "The target was also responsible for
distributing those weapons to special groups and extremist militants
operating throughout Baghdad. The weapons smuggler had direct ties to senior
militant leaders and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force."
Officials said five others were arrested during the raid.
They said Iranian officers were transferring weapons and
finances to a range of militias in an effort to force a U.S. military
withdrawal from Iraq.
U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said insurgents have
received Iranian 240 mm rockets for attacks against the U.S.-led coalition.
Bergner said U.S. forces recovered some of the 240 mm rockets in the Ninveh
province on Aug. 14.
"The 240 mm rocket is a large-caliber projectile that has been provided
to militia extremists groups in the past along with a range of other weapons
from Iranian sources," Bergner said.
The Bush administration plans to designate IRGC a terrorist group. The
Quds Force was said to be responsible for liasion with and assistance to a
range of Middle East insurgency groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and
Hizbullah.
The army also reported the killing of six Al Qaida insurgents and the
detention of another 26 fighters in operations east of Balad. U.S. and
Iraqi combat units also found a cache of weapons and bombs in an Al Qaida
stronghold.
"Terrorists cannot conceal themselves in small villages, disrupting the
lives of Iraqi citizens," Garver said. "There was no safe havens for
terrorists here, as operations will continue to seek them wherever they
hide."