The 'Proxy War': UK Troops Are Sent to Iranian Border :September 12, 2007 Independent Independent.co.uk

British forces have been sent from Basra to the volatile border with Iran amid warnings from the senior US commander in Iraq that Tehran is fomenting a "proxy war". In signs of a fast-developing confrontation, the Iranians have threatened military action in response to attacks launched from Iraqi territory while the Pentagon has announced the building of a US base and fortified checkpoints at the frontier. The UK operation, in which up to 350 troops are involved, has come at the request of the Americans, who say that elements close to the Iranian regime have stepped up supplies of weapons to Shia militias in recent weeks in preparation for attacks inside Iraq. The deployment came within a week of British forces leaving Basra Palace, their last remaining base inside Basra city, and withdrawing to the airport for a widely expected final departure from Iraq. Brigadier James Bashall, commander of 1 Mechanised Brigade, based at Basra said: "We have been asked to help at the Iranian border to stop the flow of weapons and I am willing to do so. We know the points of entry and I am sure we can do what needs to be done. The US forces are, as we know, engaged in the 'surge' and the border is of particular concern to them." The mission will include the King's Royal Hussars battle group, 250 of whom were told at the weekend that they would be returning to the UK as part of a drawdown of forces in Iraq. The operation is regarded as a high-risk strategy which could lead to clashes with Iranian-backed Shia militias or even Iranian forces and also leaves open the possibility of Iranian retaliation in the form of attacks against British forces at the Basra air base or inciting violence to draw them back into Basra city. Relations between the two countries are already fraught after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized a British naval party in the Gulf earlier this year. The move came as General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, made some of the strongest accusations yet by US officials about Iranian activity. General Petraeus spoke on Monday of a "proxy war" in Iraq, while Mr Crocker accused the Iranian government of "providing lethal capabilities to the enemies of the Iraqi state". In an interview after his appearance before a congressional panel on Monday, General Petraeus strongly implied that it would soon be necessary to obtain authorisation to take action against Iran within its own borders, rather than just inside Iraq. "There is a pretty hard look ongoing at that particular situation" he said. The Royal Welsh battle group, with Challenger tanks and Warrior armoured vehicles, is conducting out regular exercises at the Basra air base in preparation for any re-entry into the city. No formal handover of Basra to the Iraqi government has yet taken place and the UK remains responsible for maintaining security in the region. The Iraqi commander in charge of the southern part of the country, General Mohan al-Furayji, said he would not hesitate to call for British help if there was an emergency. While previous US military action has been primarily directed against Sunni insurgents, it is Shia fighters, which the US accuses Iran of backing, who now account for 80 per cent of US casualties. For the British military the move to the border is a change of policy. They had stopped patrols along the long border at Maysan despite US concerns at the time that the area would become a conduit for weapons into Iraq. The decision to return to the frontier has been heavily influenced by the highly charged and very public dispute with the United States. British commanders feel that they cannot turn down the fresh American request for help after refusing to delay the withdrawal from Basra Palace. They also maintain that the operation will stop Iranian arms entering Basra. Brigadier Bashall said: "We are not sitting here idly at the air bridge. The security of Basra is still our responsibility and we shall act where necessary. We are also prepared to restore order in Basra City if asked to do so." The US decision to build fortifications at the Iranian border, after four years of presence in Iraq, shows, say American commanders, that the "Iranian threat" is now one of their main concerns. Maj-Gen Rick Lynch, commander of the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division, said 48 Iranian-supplied roadside bombs had been used against his forces killing nine soldiers. "We've got a major problem with Iranian munitions streaming into Iraq. This Iranian interference is troubling and we have to stop it," he told The Wall Street Journal this week. Meanwhile at a conference in Baghdad on regional co-operation, Iran claimed the US was supporting groups mounting attacks from Iraqi territory in the Kurdish north. Said Jalili , Iran's deputy foreign minister, last night said: "I think [the US and its allies] are going to prevaricate with the truth because they know they have been defeated in Iraq and they have not been successful. And so they are going to put the blame on us, on the other side."

It's Iran we're fighting, says Basra commander : By David Blair, Diplomatic Correspondent

British forces in southern Iraq have been fighting a "proxy war" against Iran, the commander of the troops who withdrew from Basra Palace has said.While the Army has frequently accused Iran of stirring violence across southern Iraq by arming Shia militias, no officer has been as blunt as Lt Col Patrick Sanders, commander of 4th Battalion The Rifles.

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He told the BBC that 5,500 British soldiers still based at Basra Airport could return to the city if called upon by Iraq's newly trained security forces. This may happen if Iraq's army needs help against Basra's Shia militias – who Britain accuses Iran of arming and training. "We are engaged, or we have been engaged, effectively in a proxy war with Iran and if that resumes then they (Iraq's security forces) will need us to help," Lt Col Sanders said. He added that Basra was benefiting from a "lull in violence" and his troops had carried out a smooth and bloodless withdrawal from the palace in the city's centre. This took place in cooperation with Iraq's British-trained forces and after talks with the Shia militias. "There was a lot of potential for some quite serious violence and attacks on us. I'm delighted that it passed off without incident," Lt Col Sanders said. In July alone, Shia militias fired 750 mortar bombs at the British base in Basra palace. Of all the armed groups faced by British forces in southern Iraq, the Jaish al-Mahdi, or Army of the Mahdi, led by the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, was judged to be the most dangerous. But Lt Col Sanders said it was "complete nonsense" to suggest that his troops had been defeated. "The militias, and the Jaish al-Mahdi in particular, have thrown just about everything they have got at us. They have been unable to engage us in open fighting. We have been able to patrol around the city at will, on foot and in vehicles, any place or time of our choosing," he said. "It's been dangerous, and the level of violence that we have been engaged in and the casualties we have suffered are testament to that. But the notion that this is a defeat is nonsense." British forces still hold overall responsibility for security in Basra province. But their primary task is now "overwatch", not combat. They will stand ready to assist local security forces, continue training Iraqi soldiers and protect the essential supply route linking American forces in the centre of the country with their depots in Kuwait. Lt Col Sanders said their base at Basra Airport was not nearly as vulnerable as their old positions in the Palace. "Basra is quiet and stable at the moment and it augurs well for the future. The militias are talking to each other and they are talking to the Iraqi security force leadership. That is all encouraging," he said.
Lt Col Sanders's troops are due to leave Iraq in late November and early December. He said they would be replaced, indicating that Britain's military presence will continue into 2008.
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British Soldiers Killed In Basra : Saturday July 07, 2007

Two British soldiers have been killed and three others injured during a night of heavy fighting around Basra. Troops on patrol in BasraOne soldier, who has not yet been named, was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on a Warrior vehicle patrol in the Tuninah district, north of the Iraqi city. Next of kin have not yet been informed, a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said. The second soldier died in a separate incident in Basra Palace. They were taking part in a large scale operation involving 1,000 troops to detain insurgents suspected of other attacks. One soldier suffered serious injuries and two others received minor wounds in separate incidents in the area. All three are being treated at the British field hospital in Basra. The attacks came during a night of heavy fighting in the Basra region when troops were hit with bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire. Operations involving searches resulted in a number of arrests, the MoD spokeswoman said. The latest deaths bring the total number of British military casualties in Iraq since March 2003 to 158. Of those, 122 have been killed in action. On June 28, three British soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb attack in Basra. Britain has withdrawn hundreds of troops from Iraq, leaving a force of around 5,500 based mainly on the fringes of Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles south-east of Baghdad.

Iran bombers attack Our Boys : By TOM NEWTON DUNN - Defence Editor

Iran bombers attack Our Boys : By TOM NEWTON DUNN - Defence Editor- June 26, 2007

IRANIAN forces are being choppered over the Iraqi border to bomb Our Boys, intelligence chiefs say. Military experts claim this worrying move means we are at WAR with Iran in all but name.
Last night an intelligence source told The Sun: “It is an extremely alarming development and raises the stakes considerably. In effect, it means we are in a full on war with Iran — but nobody has officially declared it. “We have hard proof that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have crossed the border to attack us. “It is very hard for us to strike back. All we can do is try to defend ourselves. We are badly on the back foot.” Our Boys picked up the Iranian helicopters on radar crossing into empty desert. The sightings have been confirmed to The Sun by very senior military sources. At least two Brit squaddies are thought to have been killed by bombs planted during these incursions into Maysan province — Corporal Ben Leaning, 24, and Trooper Kristen Turton, 27. A further 44 British deaths have also been linked to the highly advanced bombs, rockets and mortars which originated in Iran. Coming so swiftly after the kidnap of 15 Royal Navy sailors in the Gulf, our revelation will send strained relations between London and Tehran plummeting further. Until now, secret units from Iran’s fanatical RGC have restricted themselves to just training and arming Shia rebels in Iraq. They include the al Quds Brigade — a secretive force tasked to spread Islamic revolution abroad who are the main backers for Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and are also active in Palestine and northern Iraq. An MoD spokeswoman said: “There is evidence that explosive devices used against our troops in southern Iraq originated in Iran. “Any Iranian link to armed militias in Iraq either through weapons supply, training or funding are unacceptable.

Mahdi Army militia, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, battled the joint forces.

British, Iraqi forces kill 20 insurgents in southern Iraq

British and Iraqi forces backed by aircraft raided insurgents' hideouts in the Maysan province in southeastern Baghdad early on Monday, killing at least 20 insurgents, the U.S. military said. The raids targeted members of a "secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training," the statement said. Six more suspected insurgents were injured and another detained on the operations in Amarah, the capital city of Maysan province, and the Majar al-Kabir area, 30 km south of the city, it said. During the raids in both areas, the British and Iraqi forces came under heavy small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenade attacks, prompting the joint forces to call in close air support, the statement added. Local Iraqi police source told Xinhua that up to 40 people were killed in both areas and dozens more wounded during the raids when Mahdi Army militia, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, battled the joint forces. Intelligence reports said that the two targeted areas were known as safe havens and smuggling routes for "Iranian surrogates, or Iraqis that are liaisons for Iranian intelligence operatives into Iraq," according to the statement.
Coalition forces in Iraq frequently accused Iran of providing Iraqi Shiite militia with weapons and parts for sophisticated armored-piercing bombs, which has been denied by Iran.
Source: Xinhua