(New York Times) Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt - Iran is directing surveillance drones over Iraq from an airfield in Baghdad and is supplying Iraqi forces with tons of military equipment and other supplies, according to American officials. Iranian transport planes have been making twice-daily flights to Baghdad with military equipment and supplies, 70 tons per flight, for the Iraqi forces. "Iran is likely to be playing somewhat of an overarching command role within the central Iraqi military apparatus, with an emphasis on maintaining cohesiveness in Baghdad and the Shia south and managing the reconstitution of Shia militias," said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. As many as 10 divisions of Iranian and Quds Force troops are massed on the Iran-Iraq border, ready to come to Iraq's aid if Baghdad is imperiled or Shiite shrines in cities like Samarra are seriously threatened, American officials said.
2014-06-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive