US forces arrest two in Iraq for smuggling weapons from Iran

[Barrett808]

Source: AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US forces arrested two Iraqis suspected of smuggling weapons and armour-piercing explosives from Iran in a dawn raid Thursday into Baghdad's Shiite slum Sadr City, the military announced.

The arrests came ahead of a possible first meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and United States since 1980, at an international conference on the future of Iraq in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

"The individuals targeted during the raid are suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq," the military said.

The statement said the network was also training Iraqi militants in Iran.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070503/wl_mideast_afp/iraqusiranunrest

[Roland99]

1. "in a dawn raid Thursday into Baghdad's Shiite slum Sadr City"

Last I checked, Baghdad wasn't anywhere near a border with Iran.

So, yet again, completely unsubstantiated claims of smuggling stuff in from Iran, as opposed to myriad places in Iraq where these weapons exist or are made.

[Danieljay]

2. its called propaganda. n/t

[Roland99]

3. Oh wait. I thought that phrasing sounded familiar. This happened a week ago!

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=51221&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

[Barrett808]

4. Wow, you're right!

I also thought this sounded familiar, but I figured AFP couldn't be a week late.

[Roland99]

5. Maybe they weren't?

Maybe they were fed old news as new by, *gasp*, our beloved gov't?

[Barrett808]

6. Reuters is reporting this as well:

BAGHDAD - Two suspected insurgents were detained during a raid in the Shi'ite Sadr City neighbourhood of Baghdad on Thursday, the U.S. military said. Those detained were suspected of working for a cell helped transport bombs known as "explosively formed penetrators" from Iran to Iraq, it said.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L03372697.htm

[Roland99]

7. Their marching orders were unavoidably detained.

[Eugene]

8. (Friday) U.S. raids target Iranian-made weapons

Source: Associated Press

U.S. raids target Iranian-made weapons

By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer
54 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - U.S.-led forces raided Baghdad's main Shiite district on
Friday and detained 16 alleged militants on suspicion of smuggling a
powerful weapon from Iran into Iraq that can pierce armored vehicles,
the military said.

The military also announced the discovery in recent months of several
weapons caches south of Baghdad that included four of the Iranian-
made weapons, known as explosively formed penetrators, or EFP.

-snip-

Coalition forces detained 16 suspected militants during the raids in
Sadr City, the Baghdad slum that is home to Shiite militias allied
with radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The military said
the raids targeted a cell known for facilitating the transport of
weapons and EFPs from Iran to Iraq and for bringing militants from
Iraq to Iran for terrorist training.

Intelligence reports also indicate the cell has ties to a kidnapping
network that carries out attacks within Iraq, the statement said.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070504/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070503185440

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Related:
Commandos discover Iranian weapons - MNF Iraq
16 Suspected Secret Cell Terrorists Detained - MNF Iraq