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A polyurethane blob dressed up to look like a rock, all full of Iranian stuff. Found in the back of a truck in a raid in Hilla:      

The new evidence includes infrared sensors, electronic triggering devices and information about plastic explosives used in bombs that the Americans say lead back to Iran. The explosive material, triggering devices, other components and the method of assembly all produce weapons with an Iranian signature that has never been found outside Iraq or southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is believed to have used weapons supplied by Iran, the Americans say.

But critics assert that nearly all the bomb components could have been produced in Iraq or somewhere else in the region. Even if the evidence were to establish that Iran is the source, they add, that does not necessarily mean that the Iranian leadership is responsible.

The raid by American and Iraqi forces discovered a fake boulder made of polyurethane and containing three of the deadliest kind of roadside bombs in Iraq. Smeared with dirt and pebbles to give it the color and texture of a rock, the polyurethane blob was resting in the back seat of a Toyota, apparently in preparation for a roadside attack, American officials said in lengthy briefings with two New York Times reporters last week.

Bomb factory, with a cache of post-2003 Iranian-made stuff buried in two freezers and a water container in a date palm grove, in Diyala:

BAGHDAD — In the latest attempt to link the deadliest form of roadside bombs in Iraq to components manufactured in Iran, U.S. Army officers today displayed plastic explosives they said were made in Iran and recovered during a raid Saturday in violence-racked Diyala province.

An Army explosives expert said the C-4 plastic explosives were used to make lethal bombs that the military calls EFPs — explosively formed projectiles. The explosives were found alongside enough bomb-making materials to build 150 EFPs capable of penetrating heavily armored vehicles, according to the expert, Maj. Martin Weber.

Mortars and rockets found in the same cache also were manufactured in Iran, Weber said. The cache included 150 machine-milled copper plates that form a shaped, concave lid on the projectile. When the weapons explode, those lids form balls of molten metal that can punch through the armor on vehicles.

The cache was believed to be the first EFP manufacturing site found inside Iraq, officers said. They had previously assumed that most EFPs were assembled outside the country and brought in nearly whole.

… The briefing was the third in two weeks in which U.S. military officials set forth evidence that they said showed Iran’s hand in Iraq’s violence.

By contrast with previous sessions, officers at today’s display were careful not to accuse the Iranian government of involvement. U.S. officials have had to backtrack from previous assertions of direct involvement by Iran’s top government officials.

“I don’t think there’s any way for us to know if it’s tied to any government,” said Maj. Jeremy Siegrist, the executive officer for the unit that recovered the materials. “That’s a stretch too far.”

But … Weber said cutting, stamping and milling the copper plates requires technical expertise, as does arming and triggering the EFPs. He said Iran has the necessary expertise. That country provides weapons and technical support for Hezbollah, which has used similar explosive devices in southern Lebanon.

Referring to the C-4, rockets and mortars, Weber said, “you can establish the country of origin, and that is a fact.”

Capt. Clayton Combs, the company commander whose 1st Cavalry unit recovered what officers called “an IED factory,” using the military acronym for improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs, said he found it “interesting” that explosives, rockets and mortars from Iran were including among EFP-making materials. Asked to elaborate, Combs replied, “I’m not willing to go beyond that.”

A cache of EFP materials found by U.S. forces in Hilla, south of Baghdad, last week was probably a transit point for materials to be assembled elsewhere, Weber speculated. The Hilla cache – and many others found by U.S. troops – included C-4 explosives made in Iran, Weber said.

… EFPs have killed at least 170 U.S. troops, according to U.S. officials. So far, 3,156 U.S. troops have died in the war.

The Bush administration is mounting a campaign to isolate and discredit Iran over its nuclear program and its alleged role inside Iraq. It has accused the Al Quds Brigade, a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, of supporting Shiite attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq.

 

Welcome, Punditeers. I know it’s Monday, but there’s a six pack in the fridge, come on in, help yourself.  Yeah, that’s Hans Blix talking to himself in the corner. And yeah, that’s a bucketful of Gore. Hard not to look at. Sort of like Pamela Anderson, taking her boots off. Jesus! Watch out for that French anti-tank crew! Cheney and Musharraf are busy Pakking. Lieberman is talking to a brick wall. Meanwhile, Historynet’s on, with a sort of Guns of August meets Passage from India special. 

Topics: Iraq

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:20 pm on Monday, February 26, 2007

One Response to “More Stuff”

1. saltydog Says:
   February 27th, 2007 at 2:56 am

   Yeah, but that doesn’t mean the totalitarian Iranian government, a bunch of nosy-parkers that makes every last breath of its citizens its business, knows what its military is up to. Let’s not jump to any conclusions here.

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