US expects Iraqi militia leaders to return from Iran soon
Washington, 19 August (IranVNC)—The number two US military commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III, said yesterday that he expects Shiite militia leaders who fled to Iran last spring to return to Iraq soon to stir up instability in the war-torn country.
By: IranVNC
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
10:30GMT—6:30AM/EST
IRAQ – SECURITY – IRAN
Washington, 19 August (IranVNC)—The number two US military commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III, said yesterday that he expects Shiite militia leaders who fled to Iran last spring to return to Iraq soon to stir up instability in the war-torn country.
But Austin said the improved security conditions and change in the attitude of the Iraqi people will make it difficult for the militants.
“As the security improved in the south, in places like Sadr City and in Basra, we saw that the leadership of the special groups criminal elements left the country, and we think that they went into Iran for additional training and to be resourced,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon by videolink from Iraq.
The United States military has in the past accused Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq by arming, training and funding Shiite groups in that country. Iran has denied giving support to the militias, accusing the US presence of creating instability in Iraq.
Lt. Gen. Austin said the militants would be faced with an environment and people that would not be receptive to their activities.
“Even though we anticipate that some of these leaders will attempt to return soon, we know that they will be returning to a much less permissive environment,” Austin said.
Pointing to a “much more peaceful environment”, Lt. Gen. Austin said: “the types of activities that these leaders bring to the neighborhoods and the provinces I don’t think will be as welcomed as they were in the past.”
Violence in Iraq has fallen to a four-year low, due in part to the surge of US troops, Iraq’s crackdown on Shiite militias in Sadr City and Basra, and a ceasefire declared last year by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Last week, a senior US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Iraqi assassination squads are being trained in four Iranian cities by that country’s elite Quds force and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The hit squads are planning to return to Iraq in the next few months to assassinate specific Iraqi officials as well as US and Iraqi troops, the official said.
Sources: Pentagon press release
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