Saturday, April 14, 2018

Did US airstrikes in Syria target Hezbollah?

I keep seeing this pop up on various Twitter accounts, but nowhere in the western news sources:


It's believable considering Israel just bombed the same place.
A suspected Israeli missile assault on a Syrian airbase in Homs province was a "historic mistake", the leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah has said in a televised speech.

Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that Israel had placed itself in direct confrontation with Iran, referring to the missile attacks that targeted military sites in Syria on April 9.

Two Israeli warplanes, using Lebanese airspace, fired eight missiles at the T-4 military airbase, according to the Russian military.

The attack on the airbase, located 40km west of Palmyra, killed about 14 people, at least four of whom were Iranians from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - an independent force that answers only to the country's supreme leader.

Nasrallah described the attack as unprecedented in the region - something that could not be overlooked.

[...]

In his speech, Nasrallah described the suspected chemical attack, which killed at least 85 civilians, including women and children, as a "theatrical play", and appeared to clear the Syrian government of responsibility amid a chorus of Western accusations against it.

He cautioned the United States against military intervention in Syria, saying it would pit the country in a battle with "the people of the region" rather than "armies or organisations".

  alJazeera
And, in quick order, Trump did just that.
Israel is technically at war with Syria and occupies a chunk of the strategic Golan Heights, which it seized in the Six Day War of 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in the Syria conflict but acknowledges carrying out dozens of air raids there to stop what it calls deliveries of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coupled praise for U.S.-led strikes on Syrian targets on Saturday with a warning that Iran’s presence there further endangers Syria.

[...]

An Israeli official said Israel was notified of the strikes ahead of time. Asked how much warning Israel had received, the official told Reuters: “Between 12 and 24 hours, I believe.”

  Reuters
Which makes it seem like a coordinated strike with Israel's April 9 strikes.
Asked whether Israel helped choose targets, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Not to my knowledge.”
A non-denial denial. Why would the Reuters reporter even think of that question?
Netanyahu said Israel would not allow Iran to establish itself in Syria, according to his office.

Israel has mounted air strikes in Syria on a regular basis, targeting suspected weapons shipments to Lebanese Hezbollah.
Gee, you don't think they'd stage a chemical attack to appear to come from Assad himself when the US president announced American troop withdrawal from Syria, do you?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:  We do know that the Homs area was indeed targeted. 
The targets were a Syrian centre in the greater Damascus area for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological weaponry; a chemical weapons storage facility near the city of Homs; and a third site, also near Homs, containing both a chemical weapons equipment storage facility and a command post.

  France24

No comments: