NATO intercepts Iranian-made missiles sent to Taliban

Kabul (AP)

NATO forces in Afghanistan have seized about 50 Iranian-made rockets intended to aid the Taliban's spring battle campaign, the most powerful illicit weapons ever intercepted en route from the neighbouring state, an intelligence official said yesterday.

The shipment is seen as a serious escalation in Iran's state support of the Taliban insurgency, the international intelligence official said. It's also an escalation in the proxy war Iran is waging against the United States and other Western forces in Afghanistan, as Washington continues to lobby for tougher international sanctions against Tehran to dissuade it from its alleged goal of building nuclear weapons.

The intercepted 122-millimetre rockets can be fired up to 13 miles (22 kilometres) away from a target, and explode in a burst up to 80 feet (25 metres) wide, double that of the previous 107-millimetre rockets provided by Iran to the Taliban since 2006, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters.