Fifth Fleet Hq Bahrain

I have two pieces up on Yahoo! News covering aspects of the protests in Bahrain that may not be in the papers. Follow the links for the complete article. Please ignore the broken paragraphs as it seems the transfer process from YCN hashed some of the work and they have not yet corrected the problem.

U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Midst of Bahrain Protests

The less than cordial relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the same between the United States and Iran, makes the events in Bahrain critical to the overall security and political situation in the Persian Gulf. The loss of Bahrain as a base for the United States Navy and for U.S. forces in the region could have far reaching implications.

Bahrain Protests Far More Complex than U.S. Media Show

The protests in Bahrain are being played out against a background of several conflicts and age old grievances in the area. The protests themselves pit the 56 percent of Bahrain’s population that practices Shia Islam against the 24 percent that practice Sunni Islam. Bahrain’s neighbors, Saudi Arabia and Iran, have entirely different political and security interests. Saudi Arabia is Sunni. Iran is Shia. The Saudis and 46 percent of the residents of Bahrain are Arabs. The Iranians and 8 percent of Bahrain’s residents are Persians. 54 percent of the residents of this small nation are foreign and not Bahraini citizens.

Notice the quote from the Iraqi soldiers. I would think the Americans also had the same thought.

A senior security official in the Iraqi city of Suleymaniyeh, Qadr Hamajan, told Reuters news agency that the three US nationals and a fourth man arrived there on Wednesday.

He said three of them travelled the following day to a the tourist resort of Ahmad Awa near the Iranian border. They went out hiking near Halabja.

The fourth had been taken ill and stayed behind in a hotel in Suleymaniyeh.

“They phoned their friend … and told him ‘we are in trouble and are being held by soldiers who are not speaking Kurdish or Arabic’,” Mr Hamajan said.

An official in the region told the BBC that the Iraqi border guards saw three Americans with big backpacks crossing the border, but they did not stop them because they thought Americans were allowed to go anywhere.

BBC

Here are some tips I posted on Twitter last night, that I was told the Iranian protesters found useful. I do not advocate violence but I do believe in the right of self-defense.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Insurgents in many countries have been effective against security forces. Take heart, think before you act, and plan before you start.

Stone throwing does not injure security forces and gives them excuse to retaliate.

There is always a rear to any security forces formation. Much better to locate the rear than to be in front. Think and plan.

Always have two different paths of retreat before confronting security forces. If they are in vehicles, use narrow routes.

Do not make yourself a target by publicly leading. security forces will look for leaders. Make plans before you near security forces.

Your goal is to shape the playing field, control security forces movements and to prevent their activities.

Tipping point will only be reached when Army or security forces side with the protesters. Until then, just blood and tears.

Try to create multiple disturbances to tie up security forces away from main objective. Disarm security forces when poss and hide their weapons.

There are more of you than of security forces. Take shifts if necessary and run them ragged. No sleep. No chance to eat or drink.

Separate security forces from vehicles. Hamper their communications. Distract them with many protests. Do not let them rest.

Sec forces will tend to pause if confronted, so that pause can be used. Flank them, get away or be aggressive.

Tear gas canisters are v hot. Do not pick up. Use stick to bat away.

If security forces rampaging in your neighborhood, shut off all lights. Make it difficult for them to see you.

Sports gear can be used for protection. Any sport where the player wears pads or guards or helmets.

Change clothes often. security forces will be using descriptions to round up protesters. Wigs, hats, eyeglasses, disguises

If you are going hand to hand with Basij, wear clothing you can shed. They grab clothing. You slip out of it and run.

Wear heavy shoes / boots to protect feet in crowds. Steel toed boots are excellent. Wear natural fiber clothes. Nylon can melt to you.

Make shields from wood or metal to protect against batons. Pad the surface your arm touches to prevent force damaging arm.

The key to a successful protest is movement and communication. Keep the security forces off balance. Use hand held radios.

It is possible to run telephone wire house to house where all have common walls, to communicate without being tapped.

Use runners to pass messages between groups. Children 11 or 12 are always running about and not suspected by security forces.

If security forces from out of town, will need to use street signs. Remove signs and house numbers or change them around.

Reminder, security forces need supplies. Take those or destroy them and soon security forces will be on same level as you.

Do you have superglue? cyanoacrylate based fast-acting glues Lots of annoying uses to vex security forces. What can you glue shut?

Security forces need fuel. If you get access, sugar or soap in fuel will wreck their vehicles.

Need to break security forces morale, encourage desertions. If you know someone, call them and ask they stay home.

Find water or sewer shutoff for security forces buildings and turn them off. Cut electric and phone wires, carefully.

Security forces have to eat. Prevent supplies from reaching them, or dose meals with laxatives.

If  Hezbulloh active, ask police to suppress. Foreigners interfering in Iran affairs.  Hezbulloh should be fair game for all Iranians

Keep talking with police, especially commanders. Try to get them to suppress Basij.

False flag operation. Let security forces find fliers saying one thing – you do another. Say you’ll seize airport. Stuff like that

False flag operations. If you have access to military uniforms have them worn in protests to seem like military is supporting the protests.

Watch for their leadership. If you can grab leaders, you cut off the head of the security forces.

Electrical engineer students s/b able to create jammers for security force radios. Use laser pens against helicopters if attacked.

Tracked vehicle vulnerable to jams in tracks. Heavy steel needed. Can paint over ports. If gas tanks on rear, can be ruptured.

Vegetable or cooking oil can be poured on road with a slope to make them slippery.

Park vehicles in front of doors on walk, take keys and flatten tires. Blocks doors.

Make caltrops, out of 3 nails bent together to flatten tires. Wikipedia. Larger and stronger caltrops can disable tracked vehicles. Use paint to cover vehicle windscreens.

Scooters and motorcycles are vulnerable to wire stretched across highway about 1 meter off road. Tie ends to utility poles.

Picture on June 20 2009, posted on TwitPic by madyar http://twitpic.com/7wjz2

Here is a short selection of Twitter messages about the situation in Iran at this time:

• TehranBureau : People reportedly attacking police near Laleh Park and pushing them back, first injury transferred to Khomeini Hospital near the clashes
• Mirriaam : they beat & arrest every one with green wristbands or cloth
• iranpirooz : I saw a very elderly man crying for victory and freedom in kargar street Tehran
• TehranBureau : From Tehran: they’re killing people here
• iranpirooz : Near Paiga Basij in Tehran – police and militia are loading trucks with arrested young protesters – source VOA
• iranpirooz : Iranian Militia were acting like wild animals against protesters – most inhuman beatings I have ever seen. God help us.
• TehranBureau : crowds from ferdosi sq to enghelab sq to azadi and fatemi
• TehranBureau : some forces are refusing to attack the people, but basij and special forces are attacking people
• Mirriaam : 2 chopper r spraying hot water on ppl
• iranpirooz : Crowd are shouting “DEATH TO KHAMENEI” in streets
• Mirriaam : Heavy clashes on azadi street, chants of death to khamene’i,The street is full of rocks and fire
• Mirriaam : police using tear gas, water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters in Tehran,They are beating “ppl” in Enghelab St not only protesters
• TehranBureau : basij is even attacking young girls and women
• iranpirooz : Protesters have attacked Paiga Basij (Basij Military Centre)
• iranpirooz : Many helicopters seen in Tehran
• Mirriaam : Houses in alleys open doors to injured protesters,hallway is full of beaten people
• TehranBureau : forces dressed as civilians are beating on people and using tear gas to keep them from entering the square, they are being dispersed into … lower streets
• TehranBureau : reports from Azadi square and that whole area say very brutal clashes taking place
• TehranBureau : Gunshots continuously heard from Ghasr-ol-dasht street
• TehranBureau : Got A Call: Many People Injured By Police and Militia Near Tohid SQ.
• TehranBureau : Eye Witness: At Least 20 injured Protesters transfred to Loghman Hospital in last 30 [now 50] mins.
• Ashavan : People are not backing off. I hear shooting…around teh block. But people are coming back to the street. no one cares.

The just completed election for President in Iran involved four candidates. Over 200 originally applied to run, but the vetting process by the mad mullahs reduced that number to four. These were the theologically and politically acceptable candidates. The differences in policy and program were minute and the “moderate” candidate was no friend of the United States or freedom by any definition of the words.

Still, the very rich mullahs of Iran seem to have underestimated the situation. Current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been announced as the winner but the results are so out of variance with the experience of the people that protests have erupted.

This is not the first time there has been rioting and no one should believe that this is a movement that will succeed in the short term. The majority of the protests are centered around universities and neighborhoods where the losing candidates were popular.

There is no sign that the police or security forces are joining the protests. Indeed, they seem just as enthusiastic as ever about breaking heads and arresting protesters. Without the support of the security apparatus, no protest can succeed at this time.

The Internet is enabling the exiled Iranian community world wide to see what is going on in their homeland. It is allowing interested non-Iranians a view into a society most have little comprehension of.

Here are a few sources where you can obtain the latest information:

Twitter hashtag #iranelection

Google RSS feed on Iranian election

Photos:

• Green Wave
• vnnb2′s photostream
• ZhuPix’s Election photos
• Iran Election protest in San Francisco
• Khordad Protests in Iran

Coalition jet fighters shot down an Iranian drone that was hovering over Iraq late last month, Multinational Force Iraq officials confirmed today.

The incident occurred Feb. 25, about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, officials said in a statement.

Two coalition aircraft were directed to visually identify the unmanned aerial vehicle after it was detected hovering inside the Iraqi border. The pilots confirmed that it wasn’t a coalition aircraft and that no collateral damage would result from a shoot-down. Coalition air forces tracked the UAV for more than an hour before the pilots engaged it, officials said.

“This was not an accident on the part of the Iranians,” officials said. “The UAV was in Iraqi airspace for nearly one hour and 10 minutes and well inside Iraqi territory before it was engaged.”

Officials said they believe the drone to be an Iranian-made Ababil 3 model UAV.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and military leaders have long accused Iran of interference in Iraq. Iran poses “a real problem,” Gates said on PBS’ “Tavis Smiley Show” March 11.

“I think it’s one of the significant challenges that we’re going to face over the next several years,” he said.

DoD
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

American and Iraqi forces have discovered Iranian weapons in Iraq that were manufactured as recently as last year, a U.S. military official said today.

The yield of Iranian-made weapons consisted of hundreds of rockets and makeshift bombs, Army Col. Philip Battaglia, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team said in a Baghdad news conference.

“We have found many Iranian-made munitions with a manufacture date as late as 2008,” Battaglia said, referring to weapons discovered since June.

The seized weapons include hundreds of 107 mm and 122 mm rockets, and about 500 deadly bombs that military officials call “explosively formed penetrators” because they’re designed to pierce armor in various stages of construction, he said.

The colonel’s area of operations, known as Multi-National Division – Center, covers the Iraqi provinces of Dhi Qar, Muthanna and Maysan, the latter of which borders Iran.

“We have never captured any munitions being smuggled across the border, but the border is very open,” he said. “There is movement across quite freely.”

Battaglia said smuggled weapons were identified by their “apparent Iranian marking with a date of manufacture from 2008.”

As a matter of procedure, troops hand the weapons over to Iraqi security forces for disposal, while others are sent for further analysis, he said.

DVIDS
Story by John Kruzel

This is right on the Iranian border, nearly due west of Herat.

The Afghan Border Police (ABP), 4th Brigade, in coordination with investigators from the Ministry of the Interior seized five vehicles carrying illegal narcotics, weapons and ammunition, December 18.

566 kg of drugs along with other contraband items were seized at a checkpoint near Musa Abad, 130 km from Herat. A five-man ABP team was performing a routine patrol when they engaged in an extended contact with smugglers. During the contact, the smugglers used the cover of darkness to escape, but the vehicles were captured and subsequently taken to the ABP headquarters outside Herat for processing.

“I was tasked by the General [to undertake] the patrol,” said ABP Sergeant Abul Qudoos, team leader of the patrol that made the find. “It was late at night, we had 2 and a half hours of fighting, the smugglers ran away, but we took five vehicles full of narcotics. I am proud of this accomplishment and I really appreciate the Quick Reaction Force (QRF). When the fighting started we called them and they arrived within two hours. We achieved this with the QRF’s cooperation.”

The ABP, in the western region, are mentored by an eight-member American team assigned to the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command-West (ARSIC-W). This team is responsible for advising more than 2,000 ABP troops who have the largest area of operation in Afghanistan, from the border of Farah province to Marcheck.

“This is the largest seizure we’ve seen for the 4th brigade,” said U.S. Army Capt. Garret Turley, Executive Officer for the ABP mentor team. “This will bring more eyes to the 4th brigade’s area of responsibility. The fight is coming here and we already know that. We are trying to get our leaders to see that and get us more resources.”

The weapons, drugs and ammunition will be destroyed and the ABP continue their investigation.

“I think the mission of the ABP is the most important,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Larry Willbanks, commander of the ABP mentor team. “If you can’t secure your border you can’t keep smuggled goods from coming in and you can‘t keep illegal narcotics from going out. You can’t generate revenue at your ports like you should if that border is not secure.”

ISAF

Coalition forces continue to degrade the Iranian-funded Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq criminal network with the capture of a suspected key network leader and three associates early Monday in Abd al-Husayn al-Musawi, just north of New Bagdad.

Acting on intelligence information, Coalition forces targeted an alleged regional operations leader for Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, believed to be responsible for attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces, as well as network recruitment in the Baghdad area.

Coalition forces approached a residence believed to be the location of the alleged criminal, where he identified himself to forces and was apprehended without incident, along with three associates.

Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq is assessed to have engaged in numerous EFP and IED attacks, as well as kidnappings, sectarian killings and other heinous crimes that threaten Iraq’s future. Iraqi and Coalition forces are working together to prevent Iranian-backed terrorists from endangering the Iraqi people.

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Coalition forces continue to degrade the Katai’b Hezbollah network with the capture of three suspected criminals Tuesday morning during an operation in Baghdad’s al-Basrah neighborhood.

Acting on intelligence information, Coalition forces targeted a Katai’b Hezbollah facilitator assessed to have close ties to network leadership.

Coalition forces approached the suspect’s location at a social club where they encountered three suspected Katai’b Hezbollah criminals. During questioning, Coalition forces observed that the three individuals were intoxicated, and were detained without incident.

Katai’b Hezbollah is assessed to be a proxy of Iran and its members are believed to be responsible for recent attacks against Iraqi citizens and Iraqi and Coalition forces. In the last two days, Coalition forces have detained six suspected Katai’b Hezbollah criminals.

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Young men in blue jumpsuits scurried around, pushing wide carts filled with luggage. Thousands of people passed through a metal detector in a single day, many of them coming back to the country they call home, while others visited on religious tours.

Iraqi border police scanned and searched travelers as they crossed from Iran into Iraq, maintaining control of the crowd and ensuring safe travel for everyone.

“We protect the country from outside: from smugglers, from outside weapons,” said Pvt. Osama Samir, an Iraqi guard for the ministry of entrance.

The point of entry sees between 3,500 and 5,000 people cross in both directions each day. With that many people coming in and out of the country, it’s important for the Iraqi border enforcement agencies to maintain security of the operations.

“We try to protect our country… If we do our job faithfully and right, we can do that,” Samir added.

To help the Iraqi border enforcement in Wasit, five border transition teams work alongside them to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Three of the five border transition teams cover the border forts, one covers part of the border that extends into Diyala and another team helps with the inflow and outflow of travelers passing through the point of entry. The BTTs are made up of various Soldiers from 41st Fires Brigade; 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division; 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); and others.

At Zurbatiyah, the team provides a dog team to search vehicles for bomb-making material, a biometrics database team and oversight for X-raying cargo.

Zurbatiyah is a small town located in northern Wasit province along the Iran-Iraq border. Many of the visitors come through Zurbatiyah to travel to Najaf and Karbala, known for their religious shrines and tourist sites.

“One thing I’ve noticed at this point of entry, it generates so many people, so much tourism, that the Iraqi country makes a lot of money for the economy,” said Sgt. 1st Class Shelby Cross, of Glen Burnie, Md., the non-commissioned officer in charge of the biometrics team at the Zurbatiyah point of entry.

Approximately 90 percent of the incoming visitors are Iranians, while the other 10 percent come from Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Europe.

It’s hard to estimate exactly how much money this point of entry generates in tourism, but it provides approximately 50,000 dollars in tax revenue a day from imported goods alone.

“There is a lot of cargo from Iran that comes into the country as well as fuel,” said Capt. Trond Ruud, a Kansas City, Mo., native and operations officer for one of the BTTs working at the point of entry. “You’ll see once you get out here, it’s quite an operation.”

The BTT trained IPs in searching techniques and crowd control to help in their mission. The teams also continually work with them to provide oversight. However, the BTT makes it very clear who is in charge at the border.

=“They’re [the Iraqi police officers] the direct link. We’re very quick to tell people we’re not the lead here. We support those in the lead,” said Maj. Roy Nickerson, of Radcliff, Ky., a BTT assistant leader.

The only coalition-driven mission at the point of entry is inputting visitors’ biometrics information. The team uses a Biometric Automated Toolset that stores iris scans, fingerprints, photographs and background information of military-aged males and links them to a major database both the FBI and the U.S. Army can use for security.

Upon input, the system alerts the team if they’ve come across wanted criminals or previous detainees.

In six months of working with the BAT system at the border, the team detained two high value individuals. One was wanted for making explosively-formed penetrators that injured three U.S. Soldiers and another was a terrorist group leader.

“If we can catch them on the BATs and take that one more person off the streets, that is our goal: helping the security of the country,” Cross said. “The more people we catch, the better it is for a country to build itself … that’s why we’re here.”

DVIDS
By Staff Sgt. Michel Sauret
Multi-National Division – Center

Iraqi National Police seized a munitions cache in the Al Samari mosque in the Karadah district in eastern Baghdad Aug. 18.

Police assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division, and Soldiers from the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, conducted the combined operation. The NPs entered and searched the mosque as the Coalition forces provided an outer cordon of security.

The cache consisted of four Iranian 107 mm rockets, five 107 mm rockets of unknown origin, three 107 mm warheads, two empty rocket motors and two fuses.

“The militants responsible for hiding this cache violated the sanctity of the mosque and disgraced their religion,” said Maj. Joey Sullinger, a spokesperson for 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light), Multi-National Division – Baghdad. “We commend the National Police for intercepting these tools of terror that extremists use to attack innocent Iraqi civilians, and we are proud to offer our support in helping them protect the people.”

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Hezbollah is the Iranian front group in Lebanon. They’ve moved into Iraq, due to their superior training ans experience against the Israelis and now are trying to create the fiction that they are a home-grown organization. They are part of the Mahdi Army Special Groups and directed by Iran.

Coalition forces captured a suspected propaganda specialist of the Hezbollah Brigades early Monday morning in the New Baghdad district of Baghdad.

Based on intelligence information, Coalition forces targeted the location of a suspected propaganda expert affiliated with the Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq. Information taken from suspected criminals already in custody indicate that the man uploads web sites with imagery and video taken from attacks on Iraqi Security and Coalition forces. Reports indicate this is part of a propaganda effort in order to earn money and support from their Iranian financiers.

Coalition forces entered the targeted individual’s location without incident. Following questioning, the suspect’s wife told forces her husband was the wanted man, after which the man relented and was detained.

Intelligence indicates that Kata’ib Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades is an offshoot of Iranian-trained Special Groups.

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Sgt. Richard High, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT), poses for a picture with Drew Brees, Osi Umenyiora, Roger Goodell, Jack Lengyel, Milo Ventimiglia and two Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders during an USO tour at Camp Striker on July 8.

Celebrities paid a visit to Soldiers from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Camp Striker as part of a United Service Organizations tour on July 8.

The group included National Football League stars Drew Brees and Osi Umenyiora, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former college football coach Jack Lengyel, actor Milo Ventimiglia and two Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

The stars posed for pictures and answered questions with all of the Soldiers before sitting down to sign autographs.

The NFL has a long-standing reputation of supporting the troops, working with the USO for the past 40 years, and was the first sports organization to send athletes overseas when they visited Vietnam in 1966. With Goodell joining in on this trip, it marks the first time that a commissioner from any sport has ever visited the troops.

“I am inspired by the many NFL players that, over the decades, have volunteered to visit our troops overseas and have talked about it being a life-changing experience,” Goodell said in a recent interview with the Pegasus News. “I want to do my part and emphasize that the entire NFL appreciates and supports the work that our military does to protect our country.”

Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, was making his third USO tour. He traveled to Kuwait in 2007 and Okinawa, Japan, earlier this year. He joked with Soldiers and said he was glad that he could show his support for the service members overseas.

“I do these trips for these men and women,” said Brees. “Whatever I can do to show my support – whether it’s signing footballs or just talking to them – is worth it.”

This was the first tour for Umenyiora, defensive end from the Super Bowl-champion New York Giants. A few Soldiers got the opportunity to wear his championship ring that he received following the Giants victory in Super Bowl XLII.

The Cowboys cheerleaders, often known as “America’s Sweethearts,” have made 66 USO trips over the years in support of the troops. The two cheerleaders smiled, posed for pictures and talked to the Soldiers.

“It’s always good to see high-profile people like that over here,” said Capt. Seth Palmer, personnel officer for 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT). “It’s a very good morale booster.”

Ventimiglia, who plays Peter Petrelli on the hit show “Heroes”, said he has wanted to do something for the troops for the last three years and was glad to finally get the opportunity to come over and show his support.

His family has a long legacy of military service, with his father serving twice in Vietnam and his grandfather serving in World War II. Before turning to acting, he had an appointment scheduled at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.; however, he never went.

“The tendency is for people to just read the news and talk about the war. That wasn’t enough for me,” Ventimiglia said. “To be able to come out here and say ‘thank you’ was important to me. It made me really happy to see smiling faces. That’s what it is all about, knowing I made their day.”

For some Soldiers, meeting Ventimiglia helped make what can be a long day at work a little easier.

Capt. Holly Brewer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT), poses for a picture with Milo Ventimiglia, star of the television show “Heroes”, during an USO trip at Camp Striker on July 8.

“It really made the females in our office’s day. He plays our favorite character on ‘Heroes,’” said Capt. Holly Brewer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) executive officer. “All of us are big ‘Heroes’ fans and we are always talking about the show. It was really cool to meet him and take pictures.”

Lengyel is most notably known as the coach who succeeded Rich Tolley at Marshall University in 1971 following a plane crash that killed a majority of the team and the inspiration for Matthew McConaughey’s role in the movie, “We Are Marshall,” said he was glad to be a part of this special trip in honor of our troops. He also spent 14 years working as the athletic director at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Ventimiglia, who has also been on the popular sitcom “Gilmore Girls” and played Rocky’s son in “Rocky Balboa,” said he was glad to make some Soldiers’ day. He added, unlike the character on television, he wasn’t the real hero.

“The sacrifices these guys make over here is way more than anything I could ever do on television or in the movies,” he said. “These Soldiers are the real heroes and I respect them a lot for what they do for our country.”

The USO is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to the men and women in uniform. Their slogan is “Until every one comes home” and the organization serves as a way for the American public to support the troops.

DVIDS
By Spc. Justin Snyder
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

The Iraqi Army discovered four wounded Iranian nationals in a vehicle driven by an Iraqi national near Baghdad yesterday. All four wounded were taken to a local hospital for treatment according to Iraqi army reports.

There have been numerous press reports indicating U.S. forces were involved in this unfortunate incident. “We want to make it clear that the U.S. was in no way involved in this attack,” said COL Jerry O’Hara, U.S. military spokesman.

The Iraq Police are investigating the incident.

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