(Washington Post) - The elite, highly trained, and well-funded Jerusalem Force, one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' five branches, has been given the mission of "exporting the Islamic revolution" by training, arming, and collaborating with foreign terrorist groups. It has provided instruction to more than three dozen Shiite and Sunni "foreign Islamic militant groups in paramilitary, guerrilla, and terrorism" tactics, according to a recent U.S. intelligence analysis. Hizballah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have received arms and training at one of several specialized sites in Iran, according to that document. The Jerusalem Force's former commander, Ahmad Vahidi, allegedly helped plan the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires. The group has maintained ties with the al-Qaeda terrorist network for more than a decade.
2003-10-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive