Saturday, May 4, 2013

Sources: U.S. believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria



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(CNN) -- The United States believes Israel has conducted an airstrike into Syria, two U.S. officials tell CNN.

U.S. and Western intelligence agencies are reviewing classified data showing Israel most likely conducted a strike in the Thursday-Friday time frame, according to both officials. This is the same time frame that the U.S. collected additional data showing Israel was flying a high number of warplanes over Lebanon.



One official said the United States had limited information so far and could not yet confirm those are the specific warplanes that conducted a strike. Based on initial indications, the U.S. does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace to conduct the strikes.

Both officials said there is no reason to believe Israel struck at a chemical weapons storage facilities. The Israelis have long said they would strike at any targets that prove to be the transfer of any kinds of weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorist groups, as well as at any effort to smuggle Syrian weapons into Lebanon that could threaten Israel.

The Lebanese army website listed 16 flights by Israeli warplanes penetrating Lebanon's airspace from Thursday evening through Friday afternoon local time.

The Israeli military had no comment. But a source in the Israeli defense establishment told CNN's Sara Sidner, "We will do whatever is necessary to stop the transfer of weapons from Syria to terrorist organizations. We have done it in the past and we will do it if necessary the future."

 .cnn.com
4/5/13

8 comments:

  1. Israeli warplanes 'launch air strike in Syria'....

    US media reports suggest that Israeli warplanes have launched an air strike inside Syria.

    The reports, quoting unnamed US officials, say the likely target was a weapons site. Some indicate the arms were to be sent to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

    There has been no confirmation from the Israeli or Syrian government.

    Meanwhile, President Barack Obama says he does not foresee sending US troops to Syria, amid concerns over the possible use of chemical weapons there.

    Speaking on a visit to Costa Rica, Mr Obama reaffirmed that clear evidence that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons would be a "game changer", but that any response would not be rushed.

    'Enemy planes'

    The US officials - speaking on condition of anonymity - say the Israeli air strike probably happened on Thursday or Friday, but the aircraft did not enter Syrian airspace.

    An Israeli embassy spokesman in Washington declined to comment.

    But the spokesman - quoted by Reuters news agency - added: "What we can say is that Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, especially to Hezbollah in Lebanon."

    The Syrian ambassador to the UN said he was not aware of any Israeli attack against his country.

    Meanwhile, Lebanon's National News Agency cited a Lebanese army communique as saying that "two Israeli warplanes breached the Lebanese airspace over the southern town of Rmeish" on Friday.

    It said "the enemy warplanes flew in circular manner over all Lebanese regions, and then left".

    Earlier this week, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon acknowledged that Israel had launched an airstrike in January against a target inside Syria.

    He said that the transfer of sophisticated weapons to radical militant groups like Hezbollah was a red line for Israel, and Israel had acted when it was crossed.
    Evidence sought

    In Costa Rica, Mr Obama told reporters on Friday that as a commander-in-chief he could rule nothing out "because circumstances change"......http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22409380
    4/5/13

    ReplyDelete
  2. Syrian UN envoy unaware of any attack on Syria by Israel......

    By REUTERS

    05/04/2013 06:08
    UNITED NATIONS - Syria's envoy to the United Nations said on Friday he was not aware of any attack by Israel against his country, after CNN reported that two US officials believed Israel had conducted an airstrike on Syria.

    "I'm not aware of any attack right now," Syria's UN ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, said.

    http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=311996&R=R101
    4/5/13

    ReplyDelete
  3. Israël aurait mené un raid aérien en Syrie....

    L'aviation militaire israélienne aurait mené un raid jeudi ou vendredi en Syrie visant sans doute des armements destinés au mouvement chiite libanais Hezbollah, ont rapporté des médias américains, alors que la Maison Blanche et le Pentagone se refusent pour le moment à tout commentaire.

    CNN, citant deux responsables américains, affirme que "les agences américaines et occidentales du renseignement ont examiné des données classifiées" attestant d'une telle attaque. D'après la chaîne MSNBC, "des responsables israéliens ont reconnu vendredi soir avoir lancé un raid aérien qui a touché l'intérieur de la Syrie".

    Un haut responsable américain a précisé à la chaîne que le raid visait probablement des systèmes de lancement d'armes chimiques. Mais, selon NBC, "la principale cible d'Israël était une cargaison d'armes destinées au Hezbollah au Liban".

    Tel Aviv a plusieurs fois répété qu'il ne permettrait pas que des armes soient transférées de Syrie au mouvement chiite libanais. Israël avait déjà revendiqué à demi-mot la responsabilité d'une opération aérienne fin janvier contre des installations militaires en Syrie, s'attirant des menaces de l'Iran.

    Le président Barack Obama a de son côté affirmé vendredi soir qu'il ne prévoyait pas, a priori, d'envoyer des soldats américains sur le territoire syrien quand bien même il était prouvé que le régime de Bachar Al-Assad avait eu recours à son stock d'armes chimiques.

    La veille, les Etats-Unis, par la voix du secrétaire américain à la défense Chuck Hagel, avaient pour la première fois publiquement envisagé d'armer les rebelles. Washington s'est jusqu'à présent cantonné à une aide humanitaire et "non létale" aux rebelles.

    http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2013/05/04/israel-aurait-mene-un-raid-aerien-en-syrie_3170933_3218.html#ens_id=1481132&
    4/5/13

    ReplyDelete
  4. Israel conducted an airstrike in Syria targeting a weapon shipment headed for the militant group Hezbollah based in neighbouring Lebanon, US media reported Friday.....



    WASHINGTON: Israel conducted an airstrike in Syria targeting a weapon shipment headed for the militant group Hezbollah based in neighbouring Lebanon, US media reported Friday.

    CNN television said the US and Western intelligence agencies were reviewing information suggesting Israel likely conducted a strike in the night from Thursday to Friday, just as Israel was flying many warplanes over Lebanon.

    But the United States does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace to conduct the strikes, it added.

    A senior US official told NBC News that the airstrikes were likely tied to delivery systems for chemical weapons.

    CNN, however, cited officials as saying there was no reason to believe Israel had struck chemical weapons storage facilities.

    White House and Pentagon officials declined to comment on the reports.

    But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was quoted as telling an audience that Israel had indeed bombed Syria.

    "Israel bombed Syria tonight," Graham was cited by the Politico news website as saying in passing, without offering any further details.

    Graham, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was speaking at the South Carolina Republican Party's annual Silver Elephant fundraising dinner.

    If confirmed, this would mark the second time that Israel has conducted airstrikes on Syria this year.

    Earlier this month, the Jewish state implicitly admitted carrying out a January air strike on a weapons convoy in Syria thought to be en route to Lebanon's Hezbollah -- a long-time Damascus ally.

    The reports on the latest strike came shortly after President Barack Obama nearly ruled out deploying US troops to Syria, saying he did not foresee a scenario in which that would be beneficial to the United States or Syria.

    Speculation has mounted that the Obama administration could reverse its opposition to arming the rebels after the White House said last week that President Bashar al-Assad likely used chemical weapons on his people.

    Obama has been reluctant to intervene in the war but faces mounting criticism that he has allowed the Assad regime to cross his own declared "red line" on using chemical weapons.

    - AFP/xq
    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/israel-conducted-airstrike-in-syria-us-m/663180.html
    4/5/13

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bericht des US-Senders CNN ....Israel soll syrische Ziele angegriffen haben....

    Israelische Kampfflugzeuge sollen US-Medienberichten zufolge mehrere Ziele in Syrien bombardiert haben. Die Geheimdienste der USA und anderer westlicher Staaten würden Informationen nachgehen, denen zufolge die Luftangriffe wahrscheinlich in der Nacht zum Freitag geflogen wurden, berichtete der Fernsehsender CNN.

    Allerdings seien die Jets dafür nach Einschätzung Washingtons nicht in den syrischen Luftraum eingedrungen. Dem Bericht zufolge gehen die US-Vertreter nicht davon aus, dass der Angriff einer Chemiewaffenfabrik in Syrien gegolten habe.
    Israel äußert sich nicht

    Das Weiße Haus und das Pentagon lehnten offizielle Stellungnahmen zu dem Vorfall ab. Der republikanische Senator Lindsey Graham wurde aber vom Nachrichtenportal "Politico" mit den Worten zitiert: "Israel hat Syrien heute Nacht bombardiert." Demnach äußerte sich der Politiker am Rande einer Parteiveranstaltung.

    Eine Sprecherin des israelischen Militärs lehnte eine Stellungnahme ab. "Wir kommentieren Berichte dieser Art nicht", sagte sie. Ein Vertreter des israelischen Verteidigungsministeriums wollte sich dazu ebenfalls nicht äußern.
    Es wäre bereits der zweite Angriff in diesem Jahr

    Sollte der Bericht stimmen, wäre dies der zweite Luftangriff Israels auf Syrien in diesem Jahr. Zuvor hatte Israel indirekt die Bombardierung eines Waffenkonvois im Januar zugegeben, der sich auf dem Weg in den Libanon befunden haben soll.

    Nach dem CNN-Bericht sammelten die USA in dem Zeitfenster des Angriffs Informationen, die zeigten, dass israelische Kampfflugzeuge den Libanon überflogen.

    Israel hat in der Vergangenheit klargestellt, es könne in den Konflikt in Syrien eingreifen, um zu vermeiden, dass gefährliche Waffen in die Hände von militanten Gruppen fallen. Gemeint ist unter anderem die libanesische Hisbollah-Miliz, die 2006 einen 34-Tage-Krieg gegen Israel geführt hatte.

    Im Januar diesen Jahres nahm Israel einen Konvoi in Syrien unter Beschuss und torpedierte dabei nach Informationen von Diplomaten offenbar eine Waffenlieferung an die Hisbollah.

    http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/syrien2746.html
    4/5/13

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lebanese president: Israel for violated sovereignty....

    By JPOST.COM STAFF
    05/04/2013 09:47
    Lebanese President Michel Sleiman blasted Israel Friday for violating Lebanese sovereignty, Beirut-based The Daily Star reported.

    The reported stated Sleiman as saying that Israel advanced its "policy of intimidation" toward Lebanon over the past few days in attempts to derail the country's stability.

    Sleiman's remarks came in response to increased rates of reported Israeli flyovers in Lebanese airspace and recent reports that the United States believes Israel had conducted an airstrike into Syria.

    http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=312002&R=R101
    4/5/13

    ReplyDelete
  7. İsrail Suriye'yi vurdu...Hedef ise...

    ABD'li yetkililer İsrail'in perşembe gecesi Suriye'ye havadan bir saldırı düzenlediğini ve bir hedefi vurduğunu duyurdu. İsraillilerin vurduğu hedefin bir silah deposu olduğu tahmin ediliyor.

    Adlarının açıklanmasını istemeyen ABD'li yetkililer dün akşam Amerikan basınına İsrail'in Suriye'yi vurduğunu bildirirken CBS News muhabiri David Martin, İsrail'in hedefinin bir depo olduğunu teyit ettirdi.

    ABD'li kaynaklar depoda ne olduğunu bilmediklerini belirtti. İsraillilerin bu saldırıyı gerçekleştirmek için Suriye hava sahasına mı girdiği yoksa kendi hava sahasından mı ateş ettiği de netlik kazanmadı. Ancak saldırıyı duyuran ilk yayın organı olan CNN'e göre, ABD'li yetkililer İsral jetlerinin Suriye hava sahasına girmediğini tahmin ediyor.

    Associated Press'e konuşan kaynaklar olayın perşembeyi cumaya bağlayan gece yaşandığını söyledi.

    İSRAİL'İN HİZBULLAH KAYGISI

    İsrail, Suriye'nin elindeki kimyasal silahların Lübnan'da Hizbullah'ın eline geçmesinden endişe ediyor. Bu nedenle kısa bir süre önce de Suriye-Lübnan sınırında bir konvoyu vurmuştu.

    Hafta başında Hizbullah lideri Hasan Nasrallah, Suriye Devlet Başkanı Beşar Esad'a iki yıldan fazla zamandır devam eden ayaklanmaları bastırması için destek olabileceklerini açıklamıştı.

    İsrail'in Washington Büyükelçiliği Sözcüsü Aaron Sagui, söz konusu hava saldırısıyla ilgili yorum yapmayı reddederken, "Söyleyebileceğimiz şu ki İsrail kimyasal silahların ya da diğer oyun değiştirecek silahların Suriye rejimi tarafından teröristlere özellikle de Lübnan'daki Hizbullah'a transferini önlemeye kararlıdır" dedi.

    http://www.haberturk.com/dunya/haber/841390-israil-suriyeyi-vurdu
    4/5/13

    ReplyDelete
  8. Reports: Israel attacked Syrian weapons convoy...Syrian rebels, Lebanese news website report IAF activity in Baalbek area, over Quneitra, claim Hezbollah-bound weapons convoy bombed...

    Another Israeli strike in Syria? Arab media outlets reported Israeli Air Force activity in the Beqaa Valley in east Lebanon and in the Golan Heights on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, the Military Revolutionary Council in Golan Quneitra, a rebel group, claimed that aircraft also bombed a missile convoy making its way to Lebanon from Syria. The reports could not be confirmed by any Western source. ....http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4410285,00.html
    27/7/13

    ReplyDelete

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