Worried about people sneaking in from Iran, U.S. troops and Iraqi border guards are focusing their attention on the "socket" - a remote section of frontier that juts into Iran and is used by smugglers, shepherds and even job hunters for illegal crossings. The strongest concern, however, is that the rugged area is being used by those helping Iraq's insurgency. Iraqi and US authorities long have accused Iran of meddling in Iraq, and the border guards and American technology are the first and main line of defense against infiltrators.The task is a formidable one. The two countries are separated by mountains and rocky hills laced by narrow creek beds that provide numerous hiding places. Hundreds of thousands of munitions left over from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war are strewn throughout the area, making patrols even more difficult. Lt Col William Hart, who commands the 1st Squadron, 278th Regiment of the 42nd Infantry Division based in Athens, Tenn, said most of the illegal movement across the border has been stopped. "There's been some contraband, movement of vehicles in and out, smuggling operations," Hart said. But he described the crossings as "small-scale in nature" and said only a small percentage was tied to the insurgency.
Still, there is cause for concern. In February, the 278th Regiment announced it had captured Jaffar Sadiq Fette, a suspected Iranian intelligence agent, in the border city of Mandali. Fette allegedly was involved in the killing of an Iraqi intelligence officer and helped Iraqis go to Iran to train at camps run by the militant group Hezbollah.