Non-Subscriber Extract
US intelligence and Iranian EFPs in Iraq
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| 13 June 2007 |
For at least a year, members of the US administration have complained about alleged Iranian military assistance to insurgent groups in Iraq.
In early June, after the number of EFP-induced US casualties had surged in previous months, US National Security Advisor Stephen Haldey accused Iranians of "killing our kids" in Iraq. However, uncertainties in the intelligence assessments, have made it difficult to convince domestic or foreign audiences, still jaded by past US intelligence misjudgments regarding Iraq, of the accuracy of these statements.
US government representatives claim that Iranians, especially the Qods (Jerusalem) Force, have provided anti-US insurgents in Iraq with training, intelligence, financing and arms (but not direct military support for combat operations by Iranians within Iraq).
In a press conference on 14 February 2007, President George W Bush declared that Iran's Qods "was instrumental in providing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to networks inside of Iraq". In particular, US military intelligence alleges that Qods operatives have assisted Shia guerrillas in using especially deadly explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) against coalition forces.
Iran's accusers argue that the advanced manufacturing facilities required to produce the EFPs, unlike the more traditional IEDs, do not exist in Iraq. In addition, the EFPs employed by the insurgents require substantial technical knowledge for effective use. US intelligence therefore believes the EFPs are constructed outside Iraq and then smuggled into the country. They also assess that foreign explosives experts train the insurgents on how to use them. Moreover, the recent use of simultaneous chemical weapons attacks by the insurgents, suggests their operational and manufacturing capacities may be greater than previously assessed. In addition, the knowledge required to manufacture and use EFPs may have become so widespread that Iranian assistance is no longer required.
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© 2007 Jane's Information Group
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