Iran Linked to Iraq Rocket Attack
U.S. finds Iranian fragments in Camp Victory blast that wounded 11, killed 1.
Sept. 12, 2007 — -- U.S. military officials in Iraq tell ABC News that a rocket used in an attack on coalition headquarters at Camp Victory Tuesday was made in Iran. Officials say the rocket, which narrowly missed its target, was fired from an area of Baghdad controlled by Shia militia leader Moqtada al Sadr.
Officials say it landed so close that it shook the windows of the al Faw Palace, which houses the operational headquarters of U.S. forces in Iraq. The top two American military officials in Iraq -- Gen. David Petraeus and Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno -- both have offices in the building. A video teleconference of senior officers was abruptly halted as officials rushed outside to see what was hit.
The attack wounded 11 coalition troops and killed one foreign worker.
Officials say Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, will display fragments of the 240mm rocket -- complete with Iranian markings -- at a press conference in Baghdad Thursday.
"We want to show the link between the Iranian weapons and the damage they are doing," said a senior U.S. military official in Baghdad.
The official said the rocket was fired from Baghdad's West Rashid neighborhood. The area is controlled by Sadr, who is known to have ties to Iran.
The rocket traveled more than two miles, triggering the air defense system at Camp Victory, which tracked the rocket shortly after it was fired but did not respond quickly enough to stop it.
On Aug. 29, Sadr made a pledge that his Mahdi army would suspend offensive operations against coalition forces. The official said the rocket attack shows that the Mahdi army "is not honoring Moqtada al Sadr's pledge of honor" to suspend offensive operations.