Iranian Rockets Used By Insurgents Against US Forces in Iraq

The photo tells the story. Insurgents made videos showing them firing rockets against US forces in Iraq. Those rockets were Iranian in origin. Iranian weapons are one of the leading causes for US casualties and deaths in Iraq.

The video, captured during a raid on Monday by the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment in northeast Nahrawan, shows insurgents setting up and carrying out an attack on Sunday, as well as an attack on July 11 that killed one soldier and wounded 15 others, officials said. The raid last month appeared to involve 34 launchers firing 107 mm Iranian-made rockets.

The video provides clear visual evidence of the extent to which Iraqi insurgents are equipped to launch deadly rockets on coalition forces, the Pentagon said.

The release of the video comes as officials charge Iran with supplying high-tech bombs used in 99 roadside bomb attacks in Iraq last month.

The powerful weapons, known as explosively formed penetrators or EFPs, accounted for a third of combat deaths suffered by coalition forces, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Ignoring the threat posed by Iran does not make it go away. Iran is continuing its stated goal of dominating the region and it knows that removing the US from the equation in Iraq would exponentially increase its power and prestige. It would also increase Iran's reach into Iraq and push against Saudi Arabia directly.

The Saudis aren't exactly helping matters either, with the steady flow of jihadis flowing into Iraq from the House of Saud. Ignoring that problem is costing US lives as well. However, even with the problems all around Iraq and a crumbling infrastructure in Iraq, the US is making progress against the insurgents and al Qaeda throughout Iraq. There are Islamists on both sides of the Sunni/Shia divide, and both see Iraq as a battleground. Iraqis are beginning to realize the ruinous campaign of terror on both sides is going to have disasterous results, even if the Iraqi government is unable to deal with the situation.

For the military successes to be held, the political class in Iraq must deal with the tough issues. That starts at the local level, and works up. People need to see stability and infrastructure repaired and improved, which can only come when insurgents aren't able to damage or destroy them.

UPDATE:
Bob Owens points out that the rockets in the photo are larger 230mm Iranian made rockets, and not the Iranian-made 107mm rockets such as those captured by US forces previously.