Iran claims it has arrested five al Qaeda operatives who were plotting attacks in the country. The names of the operatives have not been disclosed. From IRNA, Iran’s official, state-run “news” agency:
Five al Qaeda members with arms and explosives were arrested in Kerman province, 1,076 km south of Tehran, Commander of Islamic Republic of Iran Police in Kerman province said on Tuesday.
General Hossein Chenarian told reporters that the arrested al Qaeda members aimed to import a great amount of arms, explosives and ammunitions to the country.
“Two of the arrested men are foreigners and they had planned to do some sabotage operations inside Iran,” he said.
Iran has made similar claims of arrests of al Qaeda operatives in the past. Some questions to keep in mind when considering Iran’s actions against al Qaeda:
- If Iran is so keen on rounding up al Qaeda operatives, then why has it released numerous top al Qaeda leaders, including Saif al Adel (the current leader of al Qaeda), Atiyah Abd al Rahman, Abu Hafs al Mauritania, and Sulaiman Abu Ghaith from its “custody?”
- Why does Iran continue maintaining its “secret deal with al Qaeda allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory”?
- What is the status of Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, who the US described as “a prominent Iran-based al Qaeda facilitator”?
- Why does Iran’s Qods Force continue to operate the Ansar Corps, the command that supports the Taliban and aids al Qaeda fighters with entering Afghanistan?
- Why was Salahuddin al Maqdisi, an aide to Abu Musab al Zarqawi, recently released from Iranian “custody” so he could wage jihad in Afghanistan?
For additional information on Iran’s support of al Qaeda and the Taliban, see LWJ reports:
