Roadside Bombs Reportedly Coming From Iran

Roadside Bombs Reportedly Coming From Iran

NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, Aug. 5, 2005

Some of the most sophisticated of the deadly roadside bomb weapons being used against U.S. troops in Iraq are coming from Iran, according to a NBC News report.

Last week, U.S. soldiers intercepted a large shipment of high explosives, smuggled into northeastern Iraq from Iran, notes the report. Officials tell NBC that the shipment included a large quantity of so-called "shaped charges," configured to concentrate and direct a more powerful blast into a small area.

Story Continues Below

It was such a powerful charge that killed 14 Marines traveling in an amphibious tractor this week.

"They'll go right through a very heavily armored vehicle like an M1-A1 tank from one side right out the other side," said retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey.

U.S. intelligence officials believe the high-explosives were shipped into Iraq by the Iranian Revolutionary guard or the terrorist group Hezbollah - but are convinced it could not have happened without the full consent of the Iranian government.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has accused Iran of attempting to sabotage the democratic process in Iraq – with that country's Shiite government striking an unlikely alliance with Iraqi Sunni insurgents.

"They are desperate to get us out of Iraq" says Michael Ledeen, author of "The War Against the Terror Masters."

"If we succeed in Iraq they will be surrounded by elected governments," Ledeen added.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Saddam Hussein/Iraq