Renewed claims of Iranian arms in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. military renewed its claims of finding Iranian-made bombs and explosives in Iraq in a report published Monday by The New York Times.

U.S. ordnance experts showed Times staff members material seized in a raid in the southern Iraqi city of Hilla on Feb. 17 that they claimed was manufactured in Iran and had been seen before only in Lebanon, where it was used by Hezbollah militants.

The cache included infrared sensors, electronic triggering devices and information about plastic explosives used in making armor-piercing roadside bombs.

The raid also uncovered a fake boulder made of polyurethane and smeared with dust to look genuine, the report said.

However, critics such as Joseph Cirincione, senior vice president for National Security at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research and advocacy organization, said there was no conclusive proof Iran was supplying Iraqi insurgents, as the technology "has been around for decades."

Military experts conceded some of the electronics package is built around common items such as the motion sensors used in garage-door openers sold at many electronic retailers.