Hear that drum beating?

By Alister Bull and Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Senior Iranian leaders know about the operations of Iran’s Qods Force in fomenting violence in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday, in some of the most direct accusations yet against Tehran over the chaos in Iraq.

Military spokesman Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner said the Qods Force was also using the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi’ite militia group Hezbollah to sponsor violence in Iraq.

In fresh violence, the U.S. military said four U.S. soldiers and one Marine were killed in various attacks in Iraq on Sunday, marking a bloody start to the month for American forces.

Washington has long accused the Qods Force of arming and training Shi’ite militants who attack U.S. and Iraqi soldiers but previously it said it was not clear whether these actions were carried out with the full knowledge of Iran’s leadership.

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