U.S. General Says Iran Helping Iraqi Insurgents to Improve
Lieutenant General Ray Odierno noted during a July 26 press conference that the aim of insurgents firing rockets and mortars into the Green Zone has improved significantly, primarily due to training in Iran, international media reported the same day.
“We have seen in the last three months a significant improvement in the capability of mortar men and rocketeers to provide accurate fires into the Green Zone and other places, and we think this is directly related to training that is conducted in Iran,” Odierno said. “So we continue to go after these networks with the Iraqi security forces,” he added.
On July 23, the U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq held a second round of talks in Baghdad on Iraq’s security situation (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” July 24, 2007).
Tehran has repeatedly denied U.S. accusations that it is involved in fomenting violence in Iraq. Attacks on the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government, have increased in recent months. On July 10, dozens of mortar rounds fell on the heavily fortified area, killing three people and wounding 25.
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