THE SAS has shot dead 12 insurgents in a secret war to protect Iraq’s borders. The incident is described in a leaked document drawn up by American and Iraqi intelligence.
It said the Special Air Service soldiers “engaged” the Arab insurgents crossing the border from Syria. Following a brief encounter, all 12 were killed. The report noted that those entering the country were not usually heavily armed as they collected weapons after arriving in Iraq.
In another incident the SAS arrested two insurgents who confessed under questioning that they had been trained in Saudi Arabia and briefed in Syria. The report lists 12 countries of origin for the probable suicide bombers: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Jordan and Chechnya.
There have been 21 car bombings in Baghdad this month and 67 last month, compared with 25 in all of 2004. A senior American military official said the surge in violence followed a meeting in Syria last month of associates of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist.
The report says the SAS watched eight groups of between eight and 22 people cross into Iraq within one 48-hour period in a surveillance operation to track their destinations and controllers.
The bombers often work in pairs so that there is a backup if one is caught. The second bomber can trigger his colleague’s device.
According to the report, the recent suicide attack in Hilla, south of Baghdad, in which more than 100 people were killed — mainly queueing to apply for government jobs — was triggered by a second party, who kissed the bomber goodbye, stepped out of the car and then detonated his friend’s explosives.
The report claims to have “firm intelligence” that insurgents and their supporters have infiltrated the Iraqi forces to become “double agents,” operating by day for the Iraqi authorities and at night for Zarqawi.
“Despite numerous checks it is virtually impossible to defend against suicide bombers,” the report concludes.
("If you run, you'll only die tired.")
