Saudis, Libyans Fighting in Iraq

Captured intelligence shows most foreign insurgents are Saudis or Libyans
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2007 7:47 AM CST
Saudis, Libyans Fighting in Iraq
U.S. army soldiers detain a suspect in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Azamiyah, Iraq, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007. US officials have revealed that most foreign fighters in Iraq come from US ally Saudi Arabia and North Africa.(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed )   (Associated Press)

Most of the foreign insurgents fighting American troops in Iraq come from two so-called US allies in the war on terrorism—Saudi Arabia and Libya. Evidence was discovered in a September raid on a desert terrorist base that produced a mother lode of intelligence on the identities and hometowns of 700 foreign fighters entering Iraq since August 2006, reports the New York Times.

The influx has dropped sharply since the raid. “We cut the head off, but the tail is still left,” warned one senior American official. "Regeneration is completely within the realm of possibility.” Foreign fighters remain a small minority of insurgents in Iraq. (More Iraq stories.)

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