Iranian soldier captured in Afghanistan
A member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been captured supplying weapons to the Taliban in Afghanistan for attacks on British and American troops.
U.S. soldiers talk with each others during a patrol in Panjwai district of Kandahar Photo: AP
The capture of the officer confirms that Iran is directly supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The officer, from the elite al-Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, was captured by US special forces on December 18, a Nato spokesman said. Described as "a key Taliban weapons facilitator", he was arrested in Kandahar province.
"The joint security team specifically targeted the individual for facilitating the movement of weapons between Iran and Kandahar through Nimroz province," a Nato statement said.
It is the first reported instance of the capture of an al-Quds officer in Afghanistan. Several Iranian soldiers and operatives were caught in Iraq between 2006 and 2008.
The Iranian government is also reportedly releasing al-Qaeda terrorists from prisons to join the fight in Afghanistan and Pakistan. An intelligence official stated that three members of Osama bin Laden's family were also among those released.
In October President Hamid Karzai acknowledged that his chief of staff had received "bags of money" from Iran but insisted it was a form of aid like that received from other countries.
At the time Bill Burton, the White House deputy spokesman, said America had "every reason to be concerned" about Iranian influence in Afghanistan
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