November 28, 2006

Hezbollah Aids Iraq Deathsquads

Iran's proxy, Hezbollah, is helping to train the death squads of al Sadr's Mahdi Army. File under: no Shiite. The only question is: why send them to Lebanon for training when thousands have already been trained in Iran?

Reuters:

The Iranian-backed group Hezbollah has been training members of the Mahdi Army, the Iraqi Shi'ite militia led by Moktada al-Sadr, The New York Times reported on Monday, quoting a senior U.S. intelligence official.

Between 1,000 and 2,000 fighters from the Mahdi Army and other Shi'ite militias had been trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon, the unidentified official told the newspaper.

A small number of Hezbollah operatives had also visited Iraq to help with training, the official said.

Iran has facilitated the link between Hezbollah and the Shi'ite militias in Iraq while Syrian officials have also cooperated, but there is debate whether it has the blessing of the senior leaders in Syria, the official told the Times, speaking on condition of anonymity.

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 10:08 AM | |