Major weapons cache seized in Iraq

U.S. and Iraqi forces have seized a large weapons cache that includes parts for sophisticated roadside bombs that are believed to originate in Iran, U.S. military investigators said.

Details of the find were expected to be announced Monday at a news conference in Baghdad.

But military officials told The Associated Press that the arsenal is one of the biggest found north of the Iraqi capital and contains components for so-called EFPs _ explosively formed projectiles that fire a slug of molten metal that can penetrate armored vehicles.

The U.S. military has said elite Iranian corps are funneling EFPs to Shiite militias in Iraq for use against American troops. The area where the cache was found is dominated by Sunni insurgents but also includes pockets of Shiites.

Earlier this month, U.S. officials showed reporters in Baghdad pieces of EFPs they said were directly traceable to Iran.

An informant tipped off Iraqi police to the weapons stash Saturday, the military said in a statement to the AP. It was discovered near Baqouba, the provincial capital of Diyala province, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

Along with the EFPs, the weapons cache contained more than two dozen mortars and 15 rockets. There were enough metal disks to make 130 EFPs, the military said.

The origin of the weapons seized Saturday was being investigated, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, spokesman for Multinational Division-North.

"This local tip led to what is the most potentially lethal IED cache seized in northern Iraq in the past eight months," Donnelly said.

Last week, U.S. troops found a suspected Shiite weapons hideout in the southern city of Hilla that also included parts to make the lethal roadside bombs. The New York Times reported that the stash included a bomb-rigged fake boulder made of polyurethane that was apparently ready to be placed for an attack.

A statement from the U.S. military Monday said that 63 weapons caches have been discovered during major U.S.-Iraqi security sweeps around Baghdad that began Feb. 14. The arsenals included anti-aircraft weapons, armor-piercing bullets, bomb components and mortar rounds, the statement said.