In brief: Iran-tied militias top threat to Iraq

Washington – Iranian-backed militias present the most dangerous security threat for Iraq, outpacing al-Qaida-linked terrorists who have been blamed for the spike in violence there, a senior U.S. military officer said Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the Shiite militias – together they have several thousand insurgents – are working to keep the Baghdad government weak and isolated. Decisions on the number and types of attacks launched by the three main militia groups, he said, are made inside Iran, including through their ties with the powerful Quds force.

The escalating threat underscores the dangers as the U.S. prepares to pull its troops out by the end of the year. Iraqi officials are discussing whether they want to have some American forces stay in the country past that deadline.

Buchanan told reporters at the Pentagon that while al-Qaida in Iraq may be responsible for the recent wave of violence, including execution-style shootings outside Baghdad late Monday, the group is not as big a threat to the stability of the state as the Shiite militias.

China denies it had U.S. copter access

Beijing – China has rejected media reports that Pakistan gave it access to a radar-evading helicopter that crashed during the U.S. mission to kill Osama bin Laden, calling them “preposterous.”

The international business newspaper Financial Times reported Sunday that Pakistan allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples of the stealth chopper before giving it back to the U.S.

In its first public response, China’s Defense Ministry said in a one-line statement late Tuesday, “This report is baseless and preposterous.”

The U.S. suspects that Pakistan shared the technology with China in retaliation for its May 2 raid that killed bin Laden on Pakistani soil, humiliating Islamabad.