A Marine flees a 2009 IED blast in Afghanistan that killed two fellow Marines / Manprett Romana/AFP/Getty Images
Improvised explosive devices are the leading killer of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Tuesday morning comes word from the U.S. Department of Justice of a plot that “caused thousands of radio frequency modules to be illegally exported from the United States to Iran, at least 16 of which were later found in unexploded improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq.” Four Singaporeans were arrested in the case Monday; the fifth alleged conspirator, an Iranian, remains at large.
Alleges Justice:
…between June 2007 and February 2008, the defendants fraudulently purchased and caused 6,000 modules to be illegally exported from the [unnamed] Minnesota company through Singapore, and later to Iran…The indictment alleges that several of the 6,000 modules the defendants routed from Minnesota to Iran were later discovered by coalition forces in Iraq, where they were being used as part of the remote detonation systems of IEDs.
Damn.