The Israeli military confirmed today that its special forces destroyed an underground missile factory in Syria in September.
More than 100 soldiers of the Saldag unit were flown on September 8 by helicopters to this plant, which Israel had been monitoring for years. The soldiers destroyed the facilities after landing on the factory premises in the Masiaf district of Hama province, near the Mediterranean coast.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at the time that 27 people were killed during the operation. Israel’s armed forces did not report any toll, while Syrian media reported at the time 16 dead from “Israeli strikes” in the area.
Israel rarely comments on its strikes in Syria but reiterates that it will not allow Iran, its sworn enemy, to gain a foothold on its borders.
“Soldiers landed with the help of helicopters, supported by fighter jets and warships,” the military said, noting that the target was an underground facility, “sponsored by Iran.”
“The complex included advanced assembly lines for the manufacture of precision guided missiles and long-range rockets” intended for Hezbollah and other “Iranian terrorist groups” in the region. That factory was dug “into the side of a mountain” in the Masiaf district, said Lt. Col. Nadav Soshani, the army spokesman.
Most of the materials to build precision guided missiles and surface-to-surface missiles came from Iran, he added. This unit was capable of producing hundreds of missiles each year with a range of up to 300 kilometers.
“The soldiers destroyed the compound and returned safely to Israeli territory,” according to the statement.
The Observatory reported in September that the Israeli military also destroyed a “scientific research center” for weapons development, where Iranian experts were working. Tehran had spoken of a “criminal attack”.
After the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Syrian soil, targeting military installations, saying it wanted to prevent the former regime’s arsenal from falling into the hands of the new authorities.
Read also:
The UN is asking the Palestinian Authority to lift its ban on Al Jazeera
South Korea: Clashes between supporters and opponents of the former president
Russia: Ecological disaster in the Black Sea from the oil spill of the two sunken tankers
#Israel #confirmed #commando #raid #Syria #September #destroyed #missile #factory
