Israeli Airstrike Hits Truck Convoy in Syria

[MorningSong]

Here we go...buckle your seatbelts, folks...


By BEN HUBBARD Associated Press
BEIRUT January 30, 2013 (AP)

Israel conducted an airstrike inside Syria overnight near the border with Lebanon, hitting a convoy of trucks, U.S. and regional officials said Wednesday.

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

Hezbollah has committed to Israel's destruction and has gone to war against the Jewish state in the past.

A U.S. official said the strike hit a convoy of trucks.

All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the strike.

The Israeli military declined to comment, and Syrian officials and state media were silent on the issue.

Top Israeli officials have recently expressed worries that if desperate, the regime of President Bashar Assad could pass chemical weapons to Hezbollah or other militant groups. U.S. officials say they are tracking Syria's chemical weapons and that they still appear to be solidly under regime control.

Among Israeli security officials' chief fears is that Hezbollah could get its hands on Syrian chemical arms and SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles. If that were to happen, it would change the balance of power in the region and greatly hinder Israel's ability to conduct air sorties in Lebanon.

Israel suspects that Damascus obtained a battery of SA-17s from Russia after an alleged Israeli airstrike in 2007 that destroyed an unfinished Syrian nuclear reactor.

Earlier this week, Israel moved a battery of its new "Iron Dome" rocket defense system to the northern city of Haifa, which was battered by Hezbollah rocket fire in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli army called that move "routine."

The military in Lebanon, which shares borders with both Israel and Syria, said Wednesday that Israeli warplanes have sharply increased their activity over Lebanon in the past week, including at least 12 sorties in less than 24 hours in the country's south.

A senior Lebanese security official said there were no Israeli airstrikes inside Lebanese territory. Asked whether it could have been along the border on the Syrian side, he said that that could not be confirmed as it was out of his area of operations.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

A Lebanese army statement said the last of the sorties took place at 2 a.m. local time Wednesday. It said four warplanes which flew in over the southernmost coastal town of Naqoura hovered for several hours over villages in southern Lebanon before leaving Lebanese airspace.

It said similar flights by eight other warplanes were conducted Tuesday.

A Lebanese security official said the flights were part of "increased activity" in the past week but did not elaborate. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The area of Lebanon where the flights took place borders southern Syria.

Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace are not uncommon and Lebanese authorities routinely lodge complaints at the U.N. against the flights.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-conducts-airstrike-syria-18354688

[MorningSong]

Israeli 'air strike on convoy on Syria-Lebanon border'
30 January 2013 Last updated at 17:04 GMT

Israeli jets have attacked a convoy on the Syria-Lebanon border, unnamed security sources in the region have told news agencies.

The attack came as Israel voiced fears that Syrian missiles and chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militants such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.

It is not clear what the convoy was carrying, but the latest reports suggest it was attacked on the Syrian side.

There has been no comment from Israel.

BBC Middle East correspondent Wyre Davies says the reports are impossible to verify, although some well-placed diplomats and military sources say they would not be surprised if Israel had acted, given the recent instability in Syria.

The Lebanese military and internal security forces have not officially confirmed the reports, but say there has been increased activity by Israeli warplanes over the country in the past week, and particularly in recent hours.

Iran threat

One report suggested there were fears in Israel that Syria and Hezbollah would take advantage of the overcast weather conditions to send weaponry across the border.

The Associated Press quoted a US official as saying the strike hit a convoy of lorries carrying Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles.

A Lebanese army spokesman denied there had been any attack on Lebanese territory, according to L'Orient Le Jour newspaper. Others said an attack took place near the town of Zabadani in southern Syria.

Correspondents say an attack on the Syrian side would cause a major diplomatic incident, as Iran has said it will treat any Israeli attack on Syria as an attack on itself.

The attack came days after Israel moved its Iron Dome defence system to the north of the country.

Correspondents say Israel fears that Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah could obtain anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, thus strengthening its ability to respond to Israeli air strikes.

Israel has also joined the US in expressing concern that Syria's presumed chemical weapons stockpile could be taken over by militant groups.

Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom told Israeli radio on Sunday that any sign that Syria was losing its grip on the weapons could lead to Israeli action, even a pre-emptive strike.

Analysts say Israel believes Syria received a battery of SA-17s from Russia after an alleged Israeli air strike in 2007 that destroyed a Syrian nuclear reactor.

The US government said in 2008 that the reactor was "not intended for peaceful purposes".


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21264632

[Rocky_Shorz]

with chemical weapons now on the radar, none of them will be allowed to reach Iran's military wing Hezbollah

can you toss this into the nuke explosion thread too?

[kaon]

There goes Israel again. Begging for a full scale war in the Middle East. This has NOTHING to do with chemical weapons. By their own admission it has to do with the SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles and another Countries right to defend themselves and a civilian population against Israeli fighter jets.

[MorningSong]

Update:


Syria Confirms Israeli Jets Bombed Military Site

By BEN HUBBARD Associated Press
BEIRUT January 30, 2013 (AP)

Syrian state TV has confirmed that Israeli warplanes bombed a military research center northwest of the capital, Damascus.

U.S. and regional security officials reported the strike Wednesday but did not say where it took place.

State TV says the strike targeted a military research center in the area of Jermana.

It says the strike caused material damage and the center was used to advance Syrian military capabilities.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-conducts-airstrike-syria-18354688

[MorningSong]

Latest update:


Israel conducts rare airstrike on Syria
By BEN HUBBARD
— Jan. 30 3:42 PM EST

http://binaryapi.ap.org/6b24c28e7f0a4fe09e4e87da73fe810f/460x.jpg

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel conducted a rare airstrike on a military target inside Syria near the border with Lebanon, foreign officials and Syrian state TV said Wednesday, amid fears President Bashar Assad's regime could provide powerful weapons to the Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

Regional security officials said Israel had been planning in the days leading up to the airstrike to hit a shipment of weapons bound for Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful military force and a sworn enemy of the Jewish state. Among Israeli officials' chief fears is that Assad will pass chemical weapons or sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah — something that could change the balance of power in the region and greatly hinder Israel's ability to conduct air sorties in Lebanon.

The regional officials said the shipment Israel was planning to strike included Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles, which would be strategically "game-changing" in the hands of Hezbollah by enabling the group to carry out fiercer attacks on Israel and shoot down Israeli jets, helicopters and surveillance drones. A U.S. official said the strike hit a convoy of trucks but did not give an exact location.

The Syrian military confirmed the strike in a statement read aloud on state TV, but it said the jets bombed a military research center in the area of Jamraya, northwest of the capital, Damascus, and about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the border with Lebanon.

The statement said the center was responsible for "raising the level of resistance and self-defense" of Syria's military. It said the strike destroyed the center and a nearby building, killing two workers and wounding five others.

The Syrian army statement denied that the strike had targeted a convoy headed from Syria to Lebanon, instead portraying the strike as linked to the civil war pitting Assad's forces against rebels seeking to push him from power.

"This proves that Israel is the instigator, beneficiary and sometimes executor of the terrorist acts targeting Syria and its people," the statement said.

The Israeli military declined to comment, and the location could not be independently confirmed because of reporting restrictions in Syria.

Hezbollah has committed to Israel's destruction and has gone to war against the Jewish state in the past. Syria has long been among the militant group's most significant backers and is suspected of supplying with funding and arms, as well as a land corridor to Iran.

This strike also comes as Syria is enmeshed in a civil war. The rebels have seized a large swath of territory in the country's north and established footholds in a number of Damascus suburbs, though Assad's forces still control the city and much of the rest of the country.

While Assad's fall does not appear imminent, analysts worry he could grow desperate as his power wanes and seek to cause trouble elsewhere in the region through proxy groups like Hezbollah.

Syria's government portrays the crisis, which started with political protest in 2011 and has since become a civil war, as a foreign-backed conspiracy meant to destroy the country.

Top Israeli officials have recently expressed worries that Assad's regime could pass chemical weapons to Hezbollah or other militant groups.

President Barack Obama has called Syria's use of chemical weapons a "red line" whose crossing could prompt a tougher U.S. response, but U.S. officials say they are tracking Syria's chemical weapons and that they still appear to be under regime control.

The strike, carried out either late Tuesday or early Wednesday, appears to be the latest move in a long running race by Hezbollah to increase its military power while Israel seeks to limit it.

Israel suspects that Damascus obtained a battery of SA-17s from Russia after an alleged Israeli airstrike in 2007 that destroyed an unfinished Syrian nuclear reactor.

Earlier this week, Israel moved a battery of its new "Iron Dome" rocket defense system to the northern city of Haifa, which was battered by Hezbollah rocket fire in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli army called that move "routine."

The airstrike was the first inside Syria in more than five years. In September 2007, Israeli warplanes destroyed a site in Syria that the U.N. nuclear watchdog deemed likely to be a secretly built nuclear reactor. Syria has denied the claim, saying the building was a non-nuclear military site.

Syria allowed international inspectors to visit the bombed site in 2008 but it has refused to allow nuclear inspectors new access. This has heightened suspicions that Syria has something to hide, along with its decision to level the destroyed structure and later build over it.

Israeli warplanes flew over Assad's palace in 2006 after Syrian-backed militants in Gaza captured an Israeli soldier.

And in 2003, Israeli warplanes attacked a suspected militant training camp just north of the Syrian capital, in response to an Islamic JIhad suicide bombing in the city of Haifa that killed 21 Israelis.

Syria vowed to retaliate for both attacks, but never did.

The military in Lebanon, which also shares a border with Israel, said Wednesday that Israeli warplanes have sharply increased their activity over Lebanon in the past week, including at least 12 sorties in less than 24 hours in the country's south.

A senior Lebanese security official said no Israeli airstrikes occurred inside Lebanese territory. Asked whether it could have been along the border on the Syrian side, he said that that could not be confirmed as it was out of his area of operations.

A Lebanese army statement said the last of the sorties took place at 2 a.m. local time Wednesday. It said four warplanes which flew in over the southernmost coastal town of Naqoura and hovered for several hours over villages in southern Lebanon before leaving Lebanese airspace.

It said eight other warplanes conducted similar flights on Tuesday.

Another Lebanese security official said the flights were part of "increased activity" in the past week but did not elaborate. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the strike.

The U.N. Agency tasked with monitoring the Lebanon-Israeli border said in a statement Wednesday it had no information on any strikes near the Syria-Lebanon border. It did note, however, a "high number of Israeli overflights" on Tuesday.

"These air violations have continued on an almost daily basis," it said.

The area of Lebanon where the flights took place borders southern Syria.

Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace are not uncommon and Lebanese authorities routinely lodge complaints at the U.N. against the flights.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war, and Syria demands the area back as part of any peace deal. Despite hostility between the two countries, Syria has been careful to keep the border quiet since the 1973 Mideast war and has never retaliated to Israeli attacks since.

In May 2011, only two months after the uprising against Assad started, hundreds of Palestinians overran the tightly controlled Syria-Israeli frontier in a move widely thought to have been facilitated by the Assad regime, to divert the world's gaze from his growing troubles at home.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/regional-security-officials-say-israel-conducted-airstrike-inside-syria-overnight

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

This is a disturbing turn of events, but perhaps difficult for them to avoid?

Do we get the true story of what is happening over there?

[Operator]

This is a disturbing turn of events, but perhaps difficult for them to avoid?

Do we get the true story of what is happening over there?

Hmm, pretty close to Mt. Hermon again. I have to look up some facts again but I think they carpet bombed
in that area a few years ago.

[humanalien]

I don't have the link but alex jones is reporting that
russia flew one of it's fighter jets over israel. Probably
as a warning to not bomb syria again or else....

[greybeard]

Syria threatens retaliation over 'Israel strike'


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/israel-strike-syria-unacceptable-russia-103723519.html



Syria threatened Thursday to retaliate over what it says was an Israeli air raid, as Damascus allies rushed to denounce the strike which threatened to take the conflict beyond Syria's borders.

Israel maintained a stony silence over Syria's claims, as well as over separate reports that its jets had hit a weapons convoy near the Lebanon border.

Syria's foreign ministry said Israel "and the states that protect it" are responsible for the air strike, and "affirms Syria's right to defend itself and its territory and sovereignty," state news agency SANA reported.

It called on "all the competent UN bodies to take the necessary steps given this grave Israeli violation, and to guarantee that it will not happen again."

UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed "grave concern" and called on all parties to "prevent tensions or their escalation in the region."

He called on all sides to "strictly abide by international law, in particular in respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries in the region," deputy UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey said.

Damascus's ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdel Karim Ali, stressed Syria's right to respond to "the Zionist aggression."

"The Israelis, and the United States behind them, along with their Arab and regional accomplices, realise that Syria, which defends its sovereignty and territory, may decide to respond by surprise to this aggression."

"It is up to the competent powers to choose the appropriate answer, and to determine the means and the place," Ali added in remarks to Lebanese website Al-Ahad, which is close to the powerful Shiite group Hezbollah.

Reaction from close Damascus ally Iran was strident.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned, without elaborating, that the "Zionist regime's attack on the outskirts of Damascus will have grave consequences for Tel Aviv," the ISNA news agency reported.

In the past, Tehran has said any Israeli attack on Syria would be considered an attack on Iran.

Russia's foreign ministry said it was "deeply concerned" but was still trying to verify Syria's allegations.

"If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked strikes against targets located on the territory of a sovereign state, which brazenly infringes on the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motive used for its justification," it said.

Late on Wednesday, Syria accused Israel of launching a dawn strike on a military research centre in Jamraya, near Damascus.

"Israeli fighter jets violated our airspace... and carried out a direct strike on a scientific research centre in charge of raising our level of resistance and self-defence," the army general command said, saying two workers were killed.

The army denied separate reports citing security sources that an Israeli strike had targeted a weapons convoy from Syria near the border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah denounced "a new Zionist aggression."

Amid speculation a convoy might have been en route to supply Hezbollah, the White House warned Syria not to do so.

Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, said that might "further destabilise the region."

Meanwhile, the White House said Vice President Joe Biden will discuss Syria on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Syrian opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib.

Israel has frequently warned that if Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons fell into Hezbollah hands, this would be a casus belli.

It has also raised the alarm over long-range Scud missiles or other advanced weaponry, such as anti-aircraft systems and surface-to-surface missiles, being transferred to Hezbollah.

Israeli officials and the military on Thursday refused to confirm or deny any involvement in the alleged attack.

Meanwhile, the main Syrian National Coalition opposition group said any talks on the country's political future must be about the departure of the Assad regime.

A day after SNC chief Moaz al-Khatib expressed openness to discussion with regime members, the political commission issued a statement reaffirming the group's charter that "any negotiation or dialogue must be about the departure of the regime and its pillars."

It also welcomed "any political solution or international effort aimed at achieving that objective."

UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said he has no plan to return to Damascus and gave a guarded response to Khatib's offer.

"It is worthy of note," he said, adding that the reaction of the government and other opposition figures would be crucial.

In Brussels, EU foreign ministers discussed whether to lift an arms embargo on Syria, to help the opposition. A decision is expected in mid-February.

On the ground, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 109 people were killed nationwide on Thursday in a conflict the UN says has left more than 60,000 dead in 22 months.

[syrwong]

It is quite clear that the UN Chief is just a puppet, always expressing “grave concerns” and yet doing nothing, not even the mildest dissent. The real countries targeted are not going to wait for an attack on Iran to respond. An attack on Syria is sufficient. So the world will see the start of a great war very soon.

[modwiz]

It is quite clear that the UN Chief is just a puppet, always expressing “grave concerns” and yet doing nothing, not even the mildest dissent. The real countries targeted are not going to wait for an attack on Iran to respond. An attack on Syria is sufficient. So the world will see the start of a great war very soon.

The possibility of you being correct is a very unpleasant reality to consider. I see it very clearly myself. There is a madness at work and it wants war. I hope that somehow this plays out on non-physical realities. Hope is all one has when sanity no longer seems to be an option.

[greybeard]

It is quite clear that the UN Chief is just a puppet, always expressing “grave concerns” and yet doing nothing, not even the mildest dissent. The real countries targeted are not going to wait for an attack on Iran to respond. An attack on Syria is sufficient. So the world will see the start of a great war very soon.

The possibility of you being correct is a very unpleasant reality to consider. I see it very clearly myself. There is a madness at work and it wants war. I hope that somehow this plays out on non-physical realities. Hope is all one has when sanity no longer seems to be an option.

The late Dr Hawkins said that Armageddon would be fought out in the Lower Astral not here.
Hopefully he is correct.
Otherwise it does not look to good.
Gregg Braden in numerous long talks pointed out that we are in a unique time when so many human race survival threatening things are all coming to a peak at the same time. However he is positive and there are organisations like http://www.heartmath.com/
http://www.glcoherence.org/
They/you/we can make a difference.

Chris

[syrwong]

It is quite clear that the UN Chief is just a puppet, always expressing “grave concerns” and yet doing nothing, not even the mildest dissent. The real countries targeted are not going to wait for an attack on Iran to respond. An attack on Syria is sufficient. So the world will see the start of a great war very soon.

The possibility of you being correct is a very unpleasant reality to consider. I see it very clearly myself. There is a madness at work and it wants war. I hope that somehow this plays out on non-physical realities. Hope is all one has when sanity no longer seems to be an option.

I am just commenting on the obvious. The war has already started after 911. Step by step everything is going in the direction of a final showdown. It has reached the point of even the blind can see. World leaders are not saying anything. The UN Chief is only gravely concerned. Msm is trivializing events. People are more worried about the economy. Who is going to stop this eventuality? No any conceivable way I can see.

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

I had a horrible premonition about Syria some years back, not too long ago,
woke up the next day to find that Israel had done a flyover and grounded commercial flights

This stuff is very serious, if we lived in that area our lives would be so very different.

Observers miss a lot of the obvious when compared to the doers.

We live at a different pace when we are at peace.

War, the great whetstone :(

It's not fair that empire keeps the wars in the backyards of the poor,
to keep the rich fat and happy.


Plenty of Jews are starving to death in israel because their gov't won't help them.

Did you read about the human self immolations there, done by handicapped people?

They suffer too! at the hands of their own elite.

[MorningSong]

Latest news:


Israeli minister comments on Syria air strike
Defence minister Ehud Barak implicitly confirms Israeli attack in Syria, saying "when we say something, we mean it".
Last Modified: 03 Feb 2013 12:22

Israel's defence minister has indicated that his country was behind an air strike in Syria last week, in the first public comments from his government on the attack.

Ehud Barak on Sunday refrained from a direct confirmation as he brought the issue up at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

"I cannot add anything to what you have read in the newspapers about what happened in Syria several days ago," Barak told participants.

But he added: "It's another proof that when we say something we mean it. We say that we don't think that it should be allowable to bring advanced weapon systems into Lebanon, the Hezbollah from Syria, when [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad falls."

According to US officials, Wednesday’s attack hit a convoy of anti-aircraft weapons inside Syria bound for the Lebanese Hezbollah group but Israel has not publicly acknowledged the air strike.

The Syrian military said the target of Israeli jets was a scientific research centre. The facility is in the area of Jamraya, northwest of the capital.

'Destabilising Syria'

Following Barak's comments, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused Israel of trying to destabilise Syria and said Damascus was able to confront "current threats ...and aggression" against it.

Syria's state news agency SANA said Assad made the remarks in a meeting with Saeed Jalili, Iran's national security council secretary, at meeting in Damascus. It was Assad's first reported response to the attack.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, Israeli leaders have repeatedly expressed fears that if Syria were to disintegrate, Assad could lose control of his chemical weapons and other arms.

Purported images of the targeted site, aired by Syrian state television on Saturday, show destroyed cars, trucks and military vehicles. A building has broken widows and damaged interiors, but no major structural damage.

Meanwhile, Syrian opposition leaders and rebels on Friday slammed Assad for not responding to the air strike, calling it proof of his weakness and acquiescence to Israel.

On Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is in the process of forming a new ruling coalition, said his new government would have to deal with weapons "being stockpiled near us and threatening our cities and civilians" - an apparent reference to the deteriorating situation in Syria.

Barak said "Hezbollah from Lebanon and the Iranians are the only allies that Assad has left".

He said in his view Assad's fall "is coming imminently" and when it happens, "this will be a major blow to the Iranians and Hezbollah."

"I think that they will pay the price," he said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/201323112846942298.html