Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee
Joined: 25 May 2003
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 Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 10:34 pm Post subject: Iranian run Sheibani and Qazali networks in Iraq |
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http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/06/targeting_the_irania.php
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Coalition and Iraqi security forces work to dismantle the Iranian run Sheibani and Qazali networks
Since the end of April, Multinational Forces Iraq has released a multitude of press releases noting the capture or killing of members described as belonging to "a secret cell terrorist network known for its use of explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, as well as facilitating the transport of weapons and EFPs from Iran to Iraq, and bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training." Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 25 members of this network and captured 68 since April 27, 2007. These are Shia terrorists which are trained, armed, funded and directed by Iran's Qods Force, and have connections to Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army.
Multinational Forces Iraq is cryptic yet clear when discussing this network of Iranian backed operatives. Since General David Petraeus, the commander of Multinational Forces Iraq, gave a press briefing on April 26, where he identified the "secret cell network, the extremist secret cells" that "were provided substantial funding, training on Iranian soil, advanced explosive munitions and technologies as well as run of the mill arms and ammunition, in some cases advice and in some cases even a degree of direction," 17 press releases identified raids against the network. In his briefing on April 26, General Petraeus mentioned both the Sheibani and Qazali networks.
The overarching network is actually the Sheibani Network, an unnamed intelligence official informed us. The Qazali network was described as a radical splinter Mahdi Army unit which operates under the aegis of the Sheibani network. General Petraeus stated the Qazali network received "substantial funding, training on Iranian soil, advanced explosive munitions and technologies as well as run of the mill arms and ammunition, in some cases advice and in some cases even a degree of direction."
"There's no question, again, that Iranian financing is taking place through the Qods force of the Iranian Republican Guards Corps," General Petraeus noted, as documentation seized during raids provided evidence of this. Qods Force [or Jerusalem Force] is a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and is responsible for planning and conducting foreign operations, intelligence gathering and terrorist activities. The unit works extensively with Hezbollah. Qods Force regularly uses its diplomatic missions to provide cover for its operatives.
The U.S. currently has 7 senior members of Iran's Qods Force in custody after raids in Baghdad in December of 2006 and Irbil in January of 2007. The Qazali Network responded by kidnapping and murdering 5 U.S. soldiers during a complex attack on the Joint Provincial Coordination Center in Karbala on January 20. On May 19, Coalition forces killed Azhar al-Dulaimi during a raid in Baghdad's Sadr City.
Handout photo released by the US military shows an 81mm mortar round believed to be from Iran and found in Baghdad in January 2007. Click photo to view.
Azhar al-Dulaimi was described as the "mastermind" and "tactical commander" of the Karbala attack and is known to have been a key player in numerous other high-profile terror attacks in Iraq. He was a major figure in the Iranian-supported Qazali network. "Intelligence reports indicate Dulaimi received military training from Iranian intelligence agents and from Lebanese Hezbollah, to include training on how to conduct terrorist-style kidnapping," according to the Department of Defense.
The Sheibani Network's role in supplying the Qazali network was unmasked after "an individual named Sheibani, who is one of the heads of the Sheibani network" was captured, General Petraeus noted in April. "His brother is the Iranian connection. He is -- was in Iraq. And that has been the conduit that then distributes these among the extremist elements again [to] these secret cells and so forth." In July of 2006, Abu Mustafa Al-Sheibani, the leader of the network, was placed on the list of 41 most wanted, and a $200,000 bounty was placed for "information leading to his capture." While it isn't clear, it is believed he was the Sheibani captured.
In August of 2005, Time described the activities of the Sheibani network, and documented the role of Iranian Qods Force in their operations to move weapons and employ the deadly Explosively Formed Penetrators - or EFPs - which are armor piercing mines. Back in 2005, the U.S. believed "al-Sheibani's team consisted of 280 members, divided into 17 bombmaking teams and death squads," Time noted. The U.S. also believed "[the Sheibani network] trained in Lebanon, in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite Sadr City district and 'in another country,'" presumably Iran. |
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