http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/iran_backs_three_shi.php
Iran backs three Shia terror groups in Iraq: General Odierno By Bill RoggioJuly 22, 2010 The top US general in Iraq has identified the three main Shia terror groups in Iraq that are backed by Iran. General Ray Odierno said Iran continues to back the League of the Righteous (or Asaib al Haq), the Mahdi Army spin-off Promised Day Brigade, and the Hezbollah Brigades (or Kataib Hezbollah). "The Iranians... continue to fund, train and provide weapons and ammunition to Shiite extremist groups," Odierno told reporters in Baghdad according <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jCA6iGhsEI3i-z4hAG8Z2Cu4 kV3Q> to AFP. Qods Force, the special operations branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, has "gone to a more sophisticated program with a smaller set of extremists" by narrowing down the number of Shia terror groups it supports. Odierno acknowledged the debate over whether Iranian support for the three main Shia terror groups in Iraq includes backing by the highest levels of Iran's government. "It's very difficult to say if the extremist groups are directly connected to the Iranian government," Odierno said. "But we do know that many of them live in Iran, many of them get trained in Iran, and many of them get weapons from Iran." The IRGC reports directly to the top of Iran's government: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The IRGC is tasked with defending the Islamic Revolution inside Iran while exporting the radical ideology to neighboring countries and worldwide. Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army and its Promised Day Brigade, lives in Qom in Iran. The League of the Righteous, the Promised Day Brigade, and the Hezbollah Brigades carry out attacks against US and Iraqi forces as well as against Iraqi leaders who threaten Iran's agenda in Iraq. These groups film their attacks against US forces and post them on the Internet. General Odierno's statements yesterday on Iranian support of Shia terror groups in Iraq marks the second time in eight days that he has pointed the finger at Iraq's neighbor. On July 13 Odierno said fighters and leaders from Hezbollah Brigades have <http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/iranianbacked_shia_t_1.php> been training in Iran and are now returning to Iraq to step up attacks. Read more: <http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/iran_backs_three_shi.php#ixz z0uS8A9IPf> http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/07/iran_backs_three_shi.php#ixzz 0uS8A9IPf [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
