'Sources': Iranian arms flow to Afghanistan increasing; EFPs among weapons interdicted last week

Above: Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division shield their ears from the blast of a 155 mm howitzer while firing at a Taliban target in eastern Afghanistan last week.

An Iranian arms shipment destined for the Taliban was intercepted on Sept. 6 by the international force in Afghanistan in what appears to be an escalating flow of weaponry between the two former enemies, according to officials from countries in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

The shipment included armor-piercing bombs known as explosively formed projectiles, which have been especially deadly when used as roadside bombs against foreign troops in Iraq, the sources said. The NATO-led force interdicted two smaller shipments of similar weapons coming from Iran into southern Helmand province on April 11 and May 3.

"It's not the fact that it's qualitatively different, but this was a large shipment which got people's attention," a U.S. official in Washington said.

This time, the arms were shipped from the western border of Iran into Farah province, a vast but sparsely populated area, the sources said, indicating an attempt to find different routes less likely to be discovered.

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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