Col. Jubair Rashid Naief, who also is a police official in Anbar province, said those attacks were carried out by the Seifaddin Regiment, made up of about 150 foreign and Iraqi fighters who slipped into the country several months ago from Syria.
Naief said the regiment, which is working with al-Qaida in Iraq, was supported by Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, 36, the eldest son of the Libyan leader.
"I am sure of what I am talking about, and it is documented," Naief said, adding that he was "100 percent sure" of the younger Gadhafi's role with the terror group.
Naief told The Associated Press his information about the Seifaddin Regiment and the younger Gadhafi's purported role came from "reliable sources" maintained by his Anbar Awakening Council within the ranks of al-Qaida in Mosul and elsewehere.
He said the information was passed to the U.S. military two or three months ago.
"They crossed the Syrian border nearest to Mosul within the last two to three months," Naief said of the Seiffadin Regiment. "Since then, they have taken up positions in the city and begun blowing up cars and launching other terror operations."
Khadafi's son? Well that is interesting, if true.
There are three things that indicate this could be true.
One, the former anti-Iraq fighters now employed by our forces to fight al Qaeda would be in a position to know things like this.
Two, Libya was the other Arab state besides Syria to support Iran against Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War. Later in the war, Libya switched sides, but there would still be people around with ties to Syria.
Third, four months ago, one of the explanations for the reduction in jihadis coming into Iraq from Syria was the report that Syria was reacting to Iraqi anger against jihadi terrorism by shifting their support to non-al Qaeda forces fighting the Iraqi government, per a National Intelligence Estimate:
Syria has cracked down on some Sunni extremist groups attempting to infiltrate fighters into Iraq through Syria because of threats they pose to Syrian stability, but the IC now assesses that Damascus is providing support to non-AQI groups inside Iraq in a bid to increase Syrian influence.
Don't be confused by Iranian and Syrian actions that appear to lessen their policy to defeat us. Reductions are tactical. The hatred remains.
Less taint. Same targets.
And more ability to control them when they have to come running back to Syria when they are chased down. It would be a very bad idea for the Alawite minority regime to have lots of angry Sunni Arab terrorists inside Syria.
