Iran Qods Force infiltrates Iraq
Middle East Times, February 8, 2008
By: Claude Salhani Editor, Middle East Times
(This report quotes Mr. Jafarzdeh extensively)
New information was brought to
light Thursday revealing "an overwhelming amount of
intelligence indicating a political-military buildup by
Tehran's mullahs, targeting not just the south, but the
heart of Iraq."
This information, collected by the People's Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq,
or the MeK), was made public by Alireza Jafarzadeh,
president of Strategic Policy Consulting, Inc., an outfit
based in Washington, D.C. with close ties to the MeK.
According to Jafarzadeh this latest move by Tehran "can only
be interpreted as indicating an aggressive buildup, by an
aggressive regime with an aggressive agenda."
Iran's plan, according to Jafarzadeh, is to expand its
terrorist network in Iraq through the deployment of the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' elite units – the Qods
Force.
Considered one of the world's most dangerous groups
operating in the shadows, the Qods (Jerusalem) Force is
reported to have established a regional command headquarters
in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah. Located along the
Iran-Iraq border, the headquarters is divided into three
operational directorates: northern, central and southern.
Each operational sector has been assigned its own
border-crossings and arms smuggling networks, and each has
been tasked in managing a terror network within its assigned
sector in Iraq.
Iranian opposition forces claim the Qods Force command HQ is
based in the Kenesht valley in Kermanshah in a base camp
known as Velayat-Faqih, and is under the command of a
high-ranking Qods Force officer named Haj Amiri. A veteran
Qods officer, Amiri was previously assigned to the command
of IRGC Brigadier General Reza-Seifollahi, where he managed
Badr Corps agents deployed into Iraq during the eight-year
Iran-Iraq war.
THE NORTHERN AXIS
The Northern Axis is responsible for the Baghdad, Diyala,
and Kurdistan provinces of Iraq. Abu-Mostafa Shaybani and
Abu-Mehdi Mohandes, two key commanders of the Qods Force's
network in Iraq, work with the Northern Axis, commanded by
Amiri.
THE NORTHERN ROUTE FOR WEAPONS SMUGGLING
One of the Qods Force's main tasks is to funnel weapons from
Iran to Iraq, according to the resistance opposed to the
mullahs in Tehran. Most shipments enter Iraq at the Marivan
border crossing. A city in western Iran, Marivan was
surrounded with military trenches during the Iran-Iraq war.
Mules are used to transport the weapons. In October 2007
about 100 Katyusha rockets were smuggled through this route.
On the Iraqi side of the border, individuals belonging to
Abu-Jafar al-Boka's network arrive at the location driving
tanker trucks filled with water. They load the rockets and
transfer them via military roads to Baghdad. To evade
inspection at checkpoints, al-Boka uses official papers
issued by Iraq's Ministry of Interior.
Weapons transferred through the Marivan passage include
Katyusha rockets, explosive packages, TNT, and
anti-helicopter surface-to-air missiles.
THE CENTRAL AXIS
The Central Axis is commanded by a Qods Force officer named
Andami, a resident of the city of Ilam in western Iran.
THE SOUTHERN AXIS
The operational area of the Southern Axis, under the command
of Jafar Ansari, extends from Dehloran in Iran to Basra in
Iraq.
Dehghan transfers weapons to Iraq via the Hoor-Abdullah
passageway. In Iraq, Faez Afshari, based in Basra, receives
the weapons and distributes them among the network. The
weapons are transported using boats in the afternoon hours,
since the border crossing is very idle at that time of day.
The smuggling route goes through Hoor-Abdullah to Shalamche
and then on to Shatt. Arms shipments also make their way
across the Faw passage.
The report goes on to name dozens of individuals whom it
accuses of smuggling weapons and carrying out activities
against U.S. and other coalition forces in Iraq.
TRAINING CENTERS USED BY QODS COMMAND HQ
Kermanshah's Kenesht Valley
Two bases located about 10 miles from the Kenesht valley and
two miles from each other are used for training Iraqis
affiliated with the Qods Force, according to the report
released by Jafarzadeh. The latest information from the
Iranian resistance indicates that nearly 2,000 persons are
training in these two bases.
Jalil Abad Base in Varamin near Tehran
The Jalil Abad base is reported to be one of the most active
training bases of the Qods Force where recruits undergo
training in bomb-making and how to fire rocket propelled
grenades, Russian-made Katyusha rockets, as well as
surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. In August
2007, nearly 300 Iraqis from Abu-Mehdi Mohandes' network
crossed into Iran along the southern border and were
transferred to Jalil Abad Base. They were still there in
early October 2007.
According to the same sources, Iran's Qods Force have agents
operating from the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad.
The list of accusations and finger-pointing is indeed a long
one. Independent confirmation of the individuals named by
the Iranian resistance as belonging to Iran's Qods Force has
not been possible and therefore many names have been kept
out of this report. But among them appears the name of the
Bank Melli branch in Baghdad, which according to the report
is used by Qods Force agents from the embassy as a front for
money laundering.
"The Qods Force has restructured its operations to adjust
with the new realities of its neighbor, i.e. the surge and
the formation of the Awakening Councils," said Jafarzadeh.
While it remains impossible to independently confirm this
latest report, previous intelligence provided by the MeK has
proven accurate. It was the MeK that exposed Iran's
clandestine nuclear weapons program by revealing the nuclear
sites in Natanz and Arak in 2000...
