By Xinhua,
Baghdad : U.S. troops captured an Iranian-backed leader of “assassination squad” and arms dealer during a raid in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Sunday.
The troops conducted the raid in Risafa district on Saturday night, arresting the suspected Basra-based “Special Groups criminal” and his aide, a military statement said.
The suspect believed to be a commander of “an assassination squad in Basra, an arms dealer with connections to Iran, and a document counterfeiter,” the statement said.
The Special Groups are Shiite militia extremists funded, trained and armed by external sources, specifically by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force operatives.
U.S. and some Iraqi officials once accused Iran of arming, funding and training Shiite militias in Iraq, but Iran denies the accusations.
The arrest came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is on a two-day visit to Iran, in which the alleged ties between Iran and Shiite militiamen in Iraq would likely to be discussed by the leaders of the two countries.