<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile — Hundreds of Iraqi Shi'ites returning from Iran for IED bombing campaign
Hundreds of Iraqi Shi'ites returning from Iran for IED bombing campaign

Thursday, September 25, 2008 Free Headline Alerts

BAGHDAD — Hizbullah has been facilitating a a major Iranian bombing campaign in Iraq, Iraqi security officials said.

The officials said Hizbullah has trained hundreds of Shi'ite insurgents in Iran for the assembly and operation of improvised explosive devices and explosively-formed penetrators. They said the Iraqi Shi'ites have been streaming back into Iraq to launch a bombing campaign against the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.

"These Hizbullah-trained Shi'ites are heading to Shi'ite cities in southern Iraq," an official said. "This looks to be a major campaign to destabilize the government."

A senior Iraqi police official said the Shi'ites were being trained in squads of 10 members each. They said the squads, known as Special Groups, have been equipped with motorcycles laden with bombs.

"The Special Groups are returning from Iran after receiving training in using new tactics," Iraqi Brig. Gen. Sabah Al Fatlawi, police chief in the province of Dhi Qar, told the Paris-based Agence France Presse. "We have seized 20 motorcycle bombs in Nassiriya [capital of Dhi Qar]. Some groups have arrived in Nassiriya."

Officials said the Iranian effort has been facilitated by Hizbullah. They said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has granted Hizbullah responsibility over Special Groups.

On Sept. 21, Iraqi and U.S. forces captured five Hizbullah operatives. Officials said the operatives facilitated the smuggling of weapons and other material from Iran and Iraq, used to attack government forces.

"Acting on intelligence information, coalition forces targeted suspected key members of the Khata'ib Hizbullah network in two separate locations," the U.S. military said. "The network allegedly funnels weapons/materiel into Iraq from Iran, which is then used to conduct attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces."

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