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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Israel hit SA-17 missiles shipment
2013-01-31
Good. Especially because last night USN, Ret. reported there was no seismic activity in the Fordo[w] nuclear facility on the day of the purported explosion closer than several hundred miles to the southeast.
It is a complete coincidence of course that the Israelis whacked the Syrians a couple days after moving two Iron Dome units to the north of the country.
[YNETNEWS] Israel conducted an Arclight airstrike inside Syria overnight near the border with Leb, hitting a convoy of trucks, US and regional officials said Wednesday.

The regional officials said Israel had been planning in the days leading up to the Arclight airstrike to hit a shipment of weapons bound for Hezbollah in Leb. They said the shipment included sophisticated, Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles, which would be strategically "game-changing" in the hands of Hezbollah.

A US official said the strike hit a convoy of trucks.

SA-17 missiles are self-propelled
...most missiles are, you know, especially after you light them off...
and have the capacity to hit jets at a low altitude. The system's portability makes it harder to trace and enables it to surprise jets within its range. These attributes could jeopardize IAF jets should they operate against Hezbollah in Leb.
Posted by:Fred

#14  Isreal has always had top-notch intel. And with the Syrian Civil War, it would be a simple matter to place bugs, or have a defector looking for a safe-haven. It would have made more sense to try smuggling them into Lebanon on a Russian commerce ship, a convoy of trucks is way to easy.

Then again, Muzzies aren't exactly known for their Intel Organizations.
Posted by: Charles   2013-01-31 18:21  

#13  what's interesting ... is how precise the intel and targeting are for the Israeli strikes. Very accurate.
Posted by: Raider   2013-01-31 14:54  

#12  The shipment may have included electronic countermeasures.

Another Israeli intelligence officer, based on the country’s northern border, told McClatchy that the target of the attack had been Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons systems that were being taken from Syria into Lebanon. He said that the weapons, which included advanced electronic systems that could disable a variety of Israeli aircraft, would have been a “game changer” had they fallen under Hezbollah’s control.

Posted by: lotp   2013-01-31 14:11  

#11  Were these the Bengazi SA17s?
Posted by: 49 Pan   2013-01-31 14:07  

#10  again Debka: US warns Syria not to transfer weapons to Hizballah
DEBKAfile January 31, 2013, 7:40 PM (GMT+02:00)

The White House on Thursday warned Syria not to transfer weapons to Hizballah, as tensions mounted following reported Israeli raids on a Syrian military site. "Syria should not further destabilize the region by transferring weaponry to Hizballah," said Ben Rhodes, a US deputy national security advisor.
Posted by: Water Modem   2013-01-31 14:05  

#9  DEBKA: Witnesses: Bombed Jamaraya institute developed Syrian unconventional arms
DEBKAfile January 30, 2013, 11:07 PM (GMT+02:00)

The Syrian government stated Wednesday night, Jan. 30 that the Israeli Air Force planes had struck an arms depot at Jamaraya near Damascus leaving dead and wounded and damaging military vehicles. There was no Israeli air strike on a Hizballah arms convoy, said the statement from Damascus in response to earlier reports that Israeli air sorties Wednesday had destroyed Hizballah missile and arms convoys ready to cross fro Syria into Lebanon. There has been no comment from Israel. Witnesses living nearby reported to AFP that the Jamaraya institute was used for developing unconventional weapons.
Posted by: Water Modem   2013-01-31 14:04  

#8  if these are the old 1970s or 1980s version of the SA 17, the IAF has pretty good countermeasures. In 1982 in an air battle over the Bekea, the IAF took out all the SAM batteries in two days.
Posted by: lord garth   2013-01-31 10:57  

#7  
I wonder at the decision to hit the convoy for one truckload vs. hit the warehouse for many truckloads.


Depends on the warehouse, doesn't it? They were likely in bunkers protected by lots of dirt and concrete. Once they're in trucks, moving along the road, it's a lot easier to hit them.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2013-01-31 10:24  

#6  Any of this stuff moving from Iran across the top of Iraq to Syria?
Posted by: JohnQC   2013-01-31 09:45  

#5  I would have happily approved an Israeli strike on a convoy of entrenching tools headed to the Hez, but that's just me.
Posted by: Besoeker   2013-01-31 07:53  

#4  What happened to yesterday's reports that this could have been Chemical weapons?

There seems to be a paucity of fact, but, in any case I don't care for the implications. Arming up the Hezzies bodes ill.
Posted by: AlanC   2013-01-31 06:58  

#3  Note the muted UN supportive response crickets.
Posted by: Besoeker   2013-01-31 02:50  

#2  I wonder at the decision to hit the convoy for one truckload vs. hit the warehouse for many truckloads.
Posted by: Skidmark   2013-01-31 02:42  

#1  Apparently Israel is now planning to strike + destroy any advanced MilSys + Support Sys it deems pertinent.

Looks like a lot of Mama Russia's newest toyz to its partners in the ME are gonna get whacked by Israel = IDAF soon enuff, + irregardless iff located in Lebanon or Syria - RUSSIA'S GONNA MAKE MUCHO $$$ REPLACING ITS WARES???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-01-31 01:33  

00:00