US General Indicts Iran In Headquarters Attack
Camp Victory
BAGHDAD - A fatal attack launched two days ago against the sprawling headquarters base of the American military in Iraq was carried out with a 240 mm rocket—a type of weapon provided to Shiite extremists by Iran, a U.S. general said Thursday.
One person was killed and 11 were wounded during the “indirect fire” attack Tuesday against Camp Victory, which includes the headquarters of Multinational Forces-Iraq.
Such an attack with a sophisticated weapon against a nearly impregnable compound—far less vulnerable than the Green Zone in the heart of the capital—sends a strong message to the Americans about their vulnerability to powerful Iranian weapons.
And it represents a major confrontation between the U.S. and armed Shiite groups the Americans insist are supported by Iran.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner said the rocket was launched from a populated area in the Rasheed district of west Baghdad, which he said was infiltrated by the Mahdi Army militia of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al- Sadr.
Bergner said Shiite groups “have received” such weapons “from Iranian sources in the past” and “used them against coalition forces.”
“The Iranian… rocket is the only 240-milimeter rocket found or fired in Iraq to date, and Jaish al-Mahdi is the only group known to fire that rocket,” Bergner said, referring to the Mahdi Army by its Arabic name.
Camp Victory, a huge area located near Baghdad International Airport, has occasionally come under fire, but attacks with such a large number of casualties and with such sophisticated weapons are rare.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected the congressional testimony of the top U.S. officials in Iraq accusing Iran of interfering in its war-torn neighbor.
In an interview on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker raised allegations of Iranian meddling solely because of the political debate within the United States over the war in Iraq.
“Iran has no need to interfere in Iraq. The Iraqi government and nation are close friends of Iran,” he said.
Bergner insisted the U.S. was certain that such rockets were of Iranian origin based on their color and markings on fragments. He said Shiite extremist leaders under U.S. detention had acknowledged that Iranian Quds Force operatives were providing 240 mm rockets to Shiite militias.
Last month, al-Sadr announced a freeze of operations by the Mahdi Army to give time to reorganize the force.
“There are indications that some of his followers are fulfilling that pledge of honor,” Bergner said. “We have seen other indications of others who are not fulfilling the commitment he made. We know there are some that are not operating within the bounds of his guidance.”
Bergner said the victims of Tuesday’s rocket attack were a mix of American military personnel, other coalition troops and civilian contractors. The fatality was a civilian contractor from a third country, meaning neither American nor Iraqi, he said.
(AP)
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Time for that new bomb.
September 13th, 2007 at 6:37 amWhat else is new? I’m just wondering if some Spec Ops teams have been moved into the Iraqi/Iranian border yet, looking for a little payback? No doubt in my mind, that day is rapidly approaching…
September 13th, 2007 at 6:48 amThis problem needs to be eradicated with blunt force.
September 13th, 2007 at 9:24 am[…] US General Indicts Iran In Headquarters Attack — Pat Dollard […]
September 13th, 2007 at 11:40 amOh yea Dan. I have a feeling that day is already in the past.
September 13th, 2007 at 2:13 pmWitnessed the attack personally as it flew directly over my head and landed less than 200 yards from my office here on Victory. Here is my post on it: http://cajuntiger.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-will-not-fear.html If we don’t do something soon about Iran, I may not be able to post about it, if you know what I mean.
September 14th, 2007 at 3:06 am