Maybe it has more to do with the fact that we now have evidence that Iranians are killing American soldiers in Iraq.
BAGHDAD, July 2 — Iranian operatives helped plan a January raid in Karbala in which five American soldiers were killed, an American military spokesman in Iraq said today.
Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, the military spokesman, also said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has used operatives from the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah as a “proxy” to train and arm Shiite militants in Iraq.
[..]
General Bergner declined to speculate on the Iranian motivations. But he said that interrogations of Qais Khazali, a Shiite militant who oversaw Iranian-supported cells in Iraq and who was captured several months ago along with another militant, Laith Khazali, his brother, showed that Iran’s Quds force helped plan the operation.
Similar information was obtained following the capture of a senior Hezbollah operative, Ali Musa Daqduq, General Bergner said. The capture of Mr. Daqduq had remained secret until today.
“Both Ali Musa Daqduq and Qais Khazali state that senior leadership within the Quds force knew of and supported planning for the eventual Karbala attack that killed five coalition soldiers,” General Bergner said.
Documents seized from Qais Khazali, General Bergner said, showed that Iran’s Quds Force provided detailed information on the activities of American soldiers in Karbala, including shift changes and the defenses at the site.
More generally, General Bergner added, Iran’s Quds Force has been using Lebanese Hezbollah as a “proxy” or “surrogate” in training and equipping Shiite militants in Iraq.
The aim of the Quds force was to prepare the militant groups so they would attack American and Iraqi government force while trying to conceal an obvious Iranian role, he said.
Read the actual press briefing for more information.
Teaser:
Ali Musa Daqduq and Qayis Khaz’ali both confirm that Qayis Khaz’ali authorized the operation and Azhar al Dulaymi, who we killed in an operation earlier this year, executed the operation.
The document we captured showed the following:
- The group that attacked the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala had conducted extensive preparation and drills prior to the attack.
- Quds Force had developed detailed information regarding our soldier’s activities, shift changes and defenses and this information was shared with the attackers.
- They had American looking uniforms, vehicles, and identification cards that enabled the attackers to more easily penetrate the Provincial Joint Coordination Center and achieve surprise.
- The captured soldiers were killed when the attackers’ dispersal from the site was interrupted.
Finally, when we captured Qayis, we also recovered 11 separate documents that recorded attacks against Coalition Forces--attacks that were ordered by Qayis himself.
Shown on the screen are two of these documents recording attacks conducted against coalition facilities in Basrah. These attacks are also confirmed by our own reporting. In all, these documents recorded 3 attacks against the Basrah palace, 2 targets in Amarah, 1 against an intelligence target in Basrah, 2 against the Shat Al-Arab Hotel in Basrah, and an IED attack against a HUMVEE. Additionally, one document recorded nine attacks against military vehicles in Russafah.
What we’ve learned from Ali Musa Daqduq, Qayis Khaz’ali and other Special Groups members in our custody expands our understanding of how Iranian Quds Force operatives are training, funding and arming the Iraqi Special Groups. It shows how Iranian operatives are using Lebanese surrogates to create Hizbollah like capabilities. And it paints a picture of the level of effort in funding and arming extremist groups in Iraq.
Go see the rest for yourself. Iran isn't making any gestures because the sanctions are hurting them, Iran KNOWS they have been busted and are trying to backtrack as fast as they can before someone decides to make them pay for killing our soldiers.
I adore The Moderate Voice and read them every day but I must disagree with his analysis of this after seeing the news we have about Hizbollah/Iran today.
More from Hot Air and Gateway Pundit.
More information on Iraqi Civilian deaths dropping in June.
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