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Hezbollah 'aiding Iraq militants' US links Iran to attack in Iraq
(about 1 hour later)
The US has accused Iran of using fighters from the Lebanese Shia Muslim movement Hezbollah to help Shia militants attack US forces in Iraq. The US military in Iraq has accused Iran of orchestrating an attack that killed five US soldiers and of using Lebanese militants to train insurgents.
The information came from a top Hezbollah fighter recently captured in southern Iraq, an army spokesman said.The information came from a top Hezbollah fighter recently captured in southern Iraq, an army spokesman said.
Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner said the suspect had been working for the Quds Force, an Iranian organisation linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Brig-Gen Kevin Bergner said the suspect admitted working with the Quds Force, linked to Revolutionary Guards.
Iran has always denied arming or funding attacks on US forces in Iraq. The force knew of and helped plan the attack on a Karbala government compound in January, Gen Bergner said.
Correspondents say these are some of the most direct accusations to date by the US military about how much the Iranian government knows about insurgency operations in Iraq. Iran has always denied involvement in anti-US attacks in Iraq, saying it supports the US-backed Iraqi government, and blaming violence on the myriad conflicts within the country since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Sophisticate attack 'Prior knowledge'
Gen Bergner said the US had learned of the existence of three camps near Tehran where Shia militants from Iraq were being trained, a few dozen at a time. Gen Bergner said the Quds Force and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia organisation Hezbollah were jointly operating camps near Tehran in which they trained Iraqi fighters before sending them back to Iraq to conduct attacks.
The general also said Hezbollah's Ali Moussa Dakdouk - who he said was captured in March - was a liaison between the Iranians and a breakaway Shia group. Gen Bergner said Hezbollah's Ali Moussa Dakdouk - who he said was captured in southern Iraq in March - was the liaison between Iran's shadowy Quds Force and a breakaway Shia group.
Gen Bergner said the group - led by Qays al-Khazaali, a former spokesman for cleric Moqtada Sadr - carried out an attack against the provincial government building in Karbala in January. Gen Bergner said it was this group - led by Qays al-Khazaali, a former spokesman for cleric Moqtada Sadr - that carried out the attack against the provincial government building in Karbala in January.
"Our intelligence reveals that senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity," Gen Bergner said. Mr Dakdouk "was directed by the Iranian Quds Force to move Iraqis in and out of Iraq and report on the training and operations of Iraqi special groups," Gen Bergner said.
Mr Khazaali and his brother were captured with Mr Dakdouk, he said. "They were being taught how to use EFPs (explosively-formed penetrators), mortars, rockets, as well as intelligence, sniper, and kidnapping operations," he added.
Correspondents say the accusations appear to be part of a continuing campaign by the US military to link Iran with insurgency violence in Iraq.
US commanders have long accused Tehran of financing and anti-US militants, but this is the first time they have accused Iranians of prior knowledge of the Karbala attack.
Sophisticated assault
Gen Bergner said Mr Dakdouk had told his US interrogators that the Karbala attackers "could not have conducted this complex operation without the support and direction of the Quds force".Gen Bergner said Mr Dakdouk had told his US interrogators that the Karbala attackers "could not have conducted this complex operation without the support and direction of the Quds force".
Five Americans were killed in the Karbala assault, a bold and sophisticated operation in which up to a dozen gunmen posed as a US security team to gain access to the government compound. Five Americans were killed in the Karbala assault, a bold and sophisticated assault in which up to a dozen gunmen posed as a US security team to gain access to the government compound.
Hezbollah officials said they would not comment until they had checked claims Mr Dakdouk was a member of their group. Mr Khazaali and his brother were captured with Mr Dakdouk, Gen Bergner said
Hezbollah officials said they would not comment until they had checked claims that Mr Dakdouk was a member of their group.
Hundreds of US-led forces in Iraq have fallen victims to EFPs. Hezbollah used the same weapons to deadly effect in its conflict with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon in 2006.