Iraq seizes large Al Qaida weapons cache near Syrian border

Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — Iraq has reported the capture of a large weapons stockpile
near the border with Syria.

Officials said Iraqi security forces seized rockets, launchers, mortars
and improvised explosive devices near Qaim in the Anbar province. They said
more than 10 people were arrested on suspicion of seeking to smuggle the
weapons to Syria on Feb. 17.

An an Iraqi gun smuggler dismantles a Kalashnikov. To successfully smuggle into Syria, the rifles are taken apart and hidden in cigarette cartons and kerosene tanks. /AP

“The stockpile of weapons included a large number of IEDs and rocket launchers,” the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

Officials said the weapons were linked to Al Qaida and part of massive smuggling to Syria. They said Iraqis were also stealing fuel from a pipeline and smuggling it across the border.

The government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has pledged to increase security along the Iraqi border with Syria. The Shi’ite government said it wanted to prevent the flow of fighters and weapons to the rebels in Syria.

“The border forces in the Anbar province, placed on alert, have taken strict measures and deployed along the Syrian border,” the government said.

Officials said Al Qaida was sponsoring much of the weapons smuggling to
Syria. On Feb. 19, Al Qaida was blamed for a suicide bombing in Baghdad that
killed 20 people, many of them police cadets.

Some of the Al Qaida fighters were said to have joined the rebel Free
Syrian Army. On Feb. 16, a group of fighters who claimed to belong to FSA
announced the formation of a battalion that appeared to stem from Al Qaida.

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