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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: The U.S.
military says that these 81mm mortars can be directly
linked back to the Iranian military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Mortars the U.S. military says
are used to kill Americans in Iraq.
WHITFIELD: First this hour, explosive charges leveled
against the government of Iran. The United States is
alleging, today, that American troops are dying from
bombs made in Iran, then smuggled into Iraq on
Tehran's orders. CNN's Michael Ware is in Baghdad
where U.S. experts outlined the case at a
long-awaited briefing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARE (on camera): The focus was on EFPs, explosively
formed penetrators. This is the most lethal kind of
roadside device currently being used in Iraq. And can
punch through the heaviest American armor on its
battlefields, like a fist through a wall.
The U.S. military has long claimed that these are
provided by Iran. Today, examples were proven.
Indeed, the explosives expert said that one component
of this bomb has to be so specifically machine
tooled, they can trace that back to Iran. And they
are certain, says this military expert, that the
components are not being made here in Iraq.
They also pointed to this elite special forces unit,
the Quds Force, or Jerusalem Force, within the
Iranian military, providing weapons to attack
American troops; to assist Shia insurgent groups.
Specifically, they focused there on mortars. Here is
an example that CNN obtained and aired late last
year. The U.S. military says that these 81mm mortars
can be directly linked back to the Iranian military.
And 81mm is a particular signature of the Iranian
armed forces in the this region, they say. The make
and model, this single piece tailfin design, is
particularly a signature of the Iranian armed forces
as are the geometrics, says the explosive expert,
another direct link to the Iranians.
They also claim that in the arrests of Iranian
officers, here in Iraq since December the Americans
claim they found proof that they are providing
weapons to a prominent Iraqi political organization.
That political organization says the weapons were
being given for its own defense. However, the U.S.
military counters and says that mortars and sniper
rifles of the kind being provided are not for
defense.
And finally, among the Iranians who were arrested in
Erbil just a few weeks ago, in the north of the
country, the U.S. military now claims one of them was
the senior operations officer for the Iranian Quds,
that special forces unit answering directly to the
supreme leader guiding the attacks against Americans.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.