The Sun: British troops in Iraq are being bombarded by new rockets and mortars supplied by Iran. The Sun
By TOM NEWTON DUNN
Defence Editor
in Basra
BRITISH troops in Iraq are being bombarded by new rockets and mortars supplied by IRAN.
The missiles have caused 30 casualties so far at one large base in Basra alone.
The Sun has seen remnants and duds from the giant cache that prove they could NOT have been made in Iraq.
They are freshly painted, dated 2006 and have been scrubbed clean to hide any markings.
Shiite Muslim extremists are also slipping over the border for Iranian-funded training in how to use them, senior officers say.
The new explosives began to rain down on Basra three months ago. They include 107mm Katyusha-style rockets and 81mm and 60mm mortars.
Basra Palace home to the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles Battle Group has taken almost 90 strikes, wounding 30. Previously rebels used old stocks from raided Iraqi army bases.
But no heavy calibre munitions have been made in Iraq since 2003.
Rifles Intelligence Officer Lt Matt Birbeck said: A lot of work has been done on this by us and the Americans and we think the new projectiles are being supplied by Iran.
But they are being clever about it, hiding their tracks.
Most of the firing is from gardens or trucks in built-up areas so troops cant fire back.
Insurgents show a callous disregard for civilians. One attack hit a school and another mortar severed a teen footballers hand.
IRAN, caught in a row with the West over its nuclear plans, this month issues a bank-note bearing an ATOMIC symbol.
