Captured Iranian agent identified, 15 Special Groups operatives captured in Iraq - The Long War Journal
Multinational Forces Iraq and the Iraqi military continue to attack the Iranian-backed Special Groups while interdicting weapons flowing from the neighboring country. Fifteen members of the Special Groups were captured in Baghdad on Sunday. The US military has disclosed the identity of the Qods Force officer captured in the northern Kurdish province of Sulimaniyah on September 20, and has stated Iran is sending portable surface-to-air missiles to Shia insurgents.
During a Sunday press briefing in Baghdad, Rear Admiral Mark Fox identified Mahmudi Farhadi as the Iranian Qods Force officer captured in Sulimaniyah. Farhadi is the sixth Qods Force officer that the US has announced is in custody. Five senior Qods Force officers were captured in Irbil in January 2007.
Iran closed the northern border immediately after Farhadi was captured, claiming he was a businessman. "I find it hard to believe that they would close the border for a businessman," Fox said.
Fox also stated Iran has supplied the Special Groups with Misagh-1 man-portable surface-to-air missiles. The Special Groups is a terrorist organization trained, funded, and supplied by Iran and is set up on the lines of Lebanese Hezbollah by the Qods Force.
"We've said that we've found these things [the Misagh 1 missiles], we've seen them employed," Fox said. The Misagh-1 design is based on the Chinese made QW-1, which "caught the attention of foreign media and research institutions when it was first introduced to the public [at an air show in 1994] because it was claimed to surpass the US Stinger in maximum effective range, target seeker tracking capability, warhead power and other indicators," according to Global Security.
It is unclear if the Misagh-1s have been successful in downing US or allied aircraft. The investigation into the downing of a British Lynx helicopter in Basra in May 2006 found that a "lucky shot" with an RPG was the cause of the crash.