CAIRO,
December 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - Dozens of former Israeli
commandos have been training Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq,
supplying them with equipment worth millions of dollars, Yedioth
Aharonot newspaper reported Thursday, December 1.
Over
the past 18 months, these ex-commandos, who were sent to Iraq by
several Israeli corporations, have been training special security
units as part of a program organized by the Kurdish authorities, said
Israel's top-selling daily.
Operating
from a secret desert stronghold dubbed Code Z, the ex-Israeli
soldiers, all with elite-unit experience, have been training the Kurds
in weapons, self-defense and anti-terror techniques.
The
newspaper showed photographs of men it said were Israelis, their faces
concealed, training Kurds in the use of weapons at an unknown location
and preparing vehicles at an airport.
The
New Yorker veteran investigative
reporter Seymour Hersh said
were quietly at work in northern Iraq, providing training for Kurdish
commando units and running covert operations inside Kurdish areas of
Iran and Syria.
Israeli
Arms
According
to the Israeli daily, Motorola Israel and Magalcom Communications and
Computers won contracts with the Kurdish government to the tune of
hundreds of millions of US dollars.
As
part of the program, the firms have supplied the Kurds with tones of
Israeli-manufactured equipment, including dozens of motorcycles and
all-terrain vehicles, sniffer dogs, devices for upgrading Kalashnikov
rifles, flack jackets, uniforms and helmets.
They
have also been involved in the secret construction of a major airport
near the northern town of Arbil, known as "Hawler
International".
The
Israelis entered Iraq through its northern border with Turkey posing
as construction engineers and agricultural experts, the paper said.
Yedioth
Aharonot added that a company owned by
Israeli entrepreneur Shlomi Michaels is in full business partnership
with the Kurdish government, providing strategic consultation on
economic and security issues.
The
company was initially established by former Mossad chief Danny Yatom
and Michaels, yet Yatom sold his shares upon his election to the
Knesset.
A
shroud of secrecy has been imposed on the project for fear the
Israelis could be targeted by Iraqi resistance groups.
The
Kurds, who make up 15-20 percent of Iraq's population and live mostly
along the borders with Iran and Turkey, have enjoyed broad autonomy
since the 1991 Gulf War.
Despite
assurances from both sides, Turkey has repeatedly raised concerned
about the reported presence of Israeli operatives in northern Iraq and
their cooperation with the country’s Kurdish community.
