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		Iranians waving Hezbollah flags during a rally in Tehran. (Reuters)

Last update - 16:32 15/08/2008

U.S.: Hezbollah training Iraqi militants in Iran

By The Associated Press

Tags: Iraq, U.S., Iran, Hezbollah

Iraqi Shiite explosive and assassination teams are being trained in at least four locations in Iran by Tehran's elite Quds force and Lebanese Hezbollah, according to intelligence gleaned from captured militia
fighters and other sources in Iraq.

A senior U.S. military intelligence officer in Baghdad also said the fighters planned to return to Iraq in the next few months to kill specific Iraqi officials as well as U.S. and Iraqi forces.

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The intelligence officer described the information Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the intelligence information.

The officer on Wednesday prodded Iraq's national security adviser with several lists of the assassination teams' expected targets. The country's intelligence service is now preparing operations to determine where and when the specially trained fighters will enter Iraq and will provide an assessment to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the intelligence officer said.

Iran, Hezbollah's mentor, denies giving any support to Shiite extremists in Iraq.

The U.S. official apparently disclosed the information in an attempt to create political pressure on Iran to suspend the training and prevent the militia fighters from returning to Iraq.

The U.S. military also wants the Iraqi government to take steps to protect the targets. Wanted posters picturing men believed to be heading the special groups are being posted around Baghdad, the military officer said.

The fighters are expected to return to Iraq between now and October, but the officer said there's no intelligence suggesting they are actually in Iraq yet.

Many of the fighters fled to Iran this spring after Iraqi government forces cracked down first on militia sanctuaries in Basra and Sadr Ce running training camps in southern Iraq until April, when they were pushed into Iran by the Iraqi crackdown.

The trainees in the Iranian camps include three Iraqis already wanted by the Iraqi government for terrorist attacks: Haji Mahdi, Haji Thamir, and Baqir al Sa'idi, the officer said. He identified two Iraqi Shiite militia groups in Iran by name: The League of the Righteous, or Asaib al Haq, and the Kataib al Hezbollah.

The special group criminals are offshoots of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Jaysh al-Mahdi militia. They spun off their own groups after al-Sadr declared a cease-fire with the Iraqi government in August 2007 and are not thought to be under his control now.

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1.	Hizbullah Training Sunni Terrorists at ?Furious Pace?	08:12	\|	Jean Van Daem	15/08/08

2.	This is No Surprise	09:45	\|	Mark of Lewiston	15/08/08

3.	Jean - How about a link to the CSM Article	09:55	\|	Mark of Lewiston	15/08/08

4.	It Don`t Look Good For Diplomacy To Me	10:23	\|	Yosemite	15/08/08

5.	truth	10:29	\|	shia girl	15/08/08

6.	TELL ME WHEN YOU CAN FIND A WAY TO STOP IT	10:40	\|	indrajaya	15/08/08

7.	The USA Amred, Trained and Supported Georgia`s Attack On Ossetia	11:30	\|	Johan Odin	15/08/08

8.	Or just some more tales from George`s crypt	11:40	\|	examiner	15/08/08

9.	Shia training Sunni	11:50	\|	Chris Linthwaite	15/08/08

10.	Oh yeah.. And they train Russians as well	12:12	\|	MiddleStanian	15/08/08

11.	So what? Everybody trains for war.	12:17	\|	Natallie Durson	15/08/08

12.	Ah, Hezballah, the Lebanese Resistance Movementt	12:24	\|	Tzfonit	15/08/08

13.	#3 You know what`s funny, Mark of Lewiston	13:16	\|	Johnboy	15/08/08

14.	# 9, CHRIS LINTHWAITE	14:00	\|	indrajaya	15/08/08

15.	Chris L (#9) Keep convincing yourself they truly Love You	14:34	\|	Gil	15/08/08

16.	So why is the US upset?	15:09	\|	Arie	15/08/08

17.	Natallie Durson (#11)	16:43	\|	Gil	15/08/08

18.	I`M SHOCKED! TEHRAN WAGING A PROXY WAR AGAINST THE USA SINCE WHEN	18:13	\|	David P	15/08/08

19.	this is part of the leadup...	18:13	\|	frenz	15/08/08

20.	Desperation measure by Iran following US victory in Iraq	19:14	\|	Voice of Reason	15/08/08

21.	13 Johnboy - Still Touch and Go	20:06	\|	Mark of Lewiston	15/08/08

22.	And yet, the US doesn`t want to...	20:26	\|	Mike	15/08/08

23.	22 Mike in SF - NOT FOR SALE	21:09	\|	Mark of Lewiston	15/08/08

24.	Gil lecturing Natalie on defending the Constitution	21:21	\|	Pssd Off American	15/08/08

25.	Voice of Reason - Pyrrhus Won, too	22:41	\|	Mark of Lewiston	15/08/08

26.	#20 Victory in Iraq?	00:01	\|	ballistic	16/08/08

27.	Hezbollah in Iraq -- What the article doesn`t say.	00:16	\|	MichaelF	16/08/08

28.	#20 - Voice of Reason	00:25	\|	MichaelF	16/08/08

29.	Countries other than the USA Equip and Train Foriegn Fighters?	01:22	\|	Global Traveler	16/08/08

30.	Trifecta	02:37	\|	Julie	16/08/08

31.	Shia`s true face	08:19	\|	Saudi Analyst	16/08/08

32.	To N°9 Chris	08:24	\|	Saudi Analyst	16/08/08

33.	Never trust Shiite	18:05	\|	Habib	16/08/08

34.	EXAMINER.wait and see.	18:11	\|	PETER SM	16/08/08

35.	M of L and Michael F. are evidence of "neo-defeatist" US	19:36	\|	Voice of Reason	16/08/08

36.	35 Voice - Have You Written Your Check?	23:24	\|	Mark of Lewiston	16/08/08

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