| Thanks for sharing, buddy. |
Three American officials on Tuesday told NBC news that Israel, using F-15 fighter jets, conducted the
on an allegedly Iranian-controlled military base in northern Syria this week, in the latest bout of the increasingly public fight between Tehran and Jerusalem.The unnamed US officials said Israel appears to be preparing for active conflict and is seeking American assistance, noting the recent visits to the US by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and trips to Israel by senior American officials.
According to NBC, the target of the Sunday night strike was an incoming weapons shipment, including surface-to-air missiles, which were freshly delivered from Iran.
Casualty counts from the attack have varied, but most put the corpse count at between 16 and 38, including many Iranians. Iran denied that any of its soldiers were killed in the attacks and that any of its bases in Syria were targeted.
According to NBC, one unnamed senior US official said the Iran-Israel conflict is the most likely in the world to devolve into open festivities.
| And now that you’ve fingered Israel for it, the odds are increased. |
The base hit in the Sunday night airstrike was located south of the city of Hama in northwestern Syria and belonged to the Syrian army’s 47th Brigade, but has reportedly been used as a headquarters for Iranian troops for several years.
American and Israeli officials have been monitoring as Iran has increased the number of transport planes that it sends from its Mehrabad Airport in Tehran to Syria. The US and Israeli officials fear that these planes are loaded with advanced munitions, which could potentially be used against Israel.
The day before the strike, one such plane was spotted by a civilian skywatcher, using open-source flight tracking software, as it flew from Tehran toward an airfield in Hama.
| Cute little video of the airplane en route at the link. |
An official from the coalition backing Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad told the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
that the strike destroyed some 200 missiles. Former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said he believed they were surface-to-surface missile with heavy warheads ‐ a type of weapon Israeli officials have said that Iran might try to bring into Syria.
Israel has refused to comment on the strike. Neither Syria nor Iran has publicly accused Israel of carrying it out, though many news outlets affiliated with them have pointed the finger at the Jewish state. Some have claimed that the United States or United Kingdom was behind the attack.
An Israeli satellite company revealed the damage caused to the site. Aerial photographs showed that at least 13 buildings were hit in the strike on the Hama base.
| Some photos at the link, more here. |
However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
Iran would likely wait to do so until after May 6 parliamentary elections in neighboring Leb, where its ally Hezbollah is fielding candidates, the official said.