Israeli Air Strike ‘Took Out Syria’s Secret Nuclear Site’

By Matthew Kalman

ISRAEL destroyed a fledgling Syrian nuclear weapons system in an air raid 12 days ago, it was claimed last night.

The suggestion fuelled speculation that the air strike on a remote area of northern Syria wiped out a secret nuclear programme established with North Korean equipment.

John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Israeli television: ‘I think it would be unusual for Israel to conduct a military operation inside Syria other than for a very high- value target, and certainly a

Labour’s benefit value target, and certainly a Syrian effort in the nuclear weapons area would qualify.’ He added: ‘I think this is a clear message not only to Syria. I think it’s a clear message to Iran as well that its continued efforts to acquire nuclear weapons are not going to go unanswered.’ Israel imposed a rare news blackout after the raid.

But Syria claimed Israeli warplanes were forced to drop their munitions and fuel harmlessly in the desert after coming under anti- aircraft fire.

Syria has also protested to Israel about the breach of its airspace and threatened to retaliate.

In a marked escalation of the crisis last night, Iran reportedly threatened to rally to Syria’s defence if its Arab ally benefit fraud is attacked by either by Israel or the U.S.

Israeli radio claimed a Persian-language website had suggested Iran has 600 Shihab-3 missiles that it will launch at Israel on the day Iran or Syria is attacked.

With a possible range of up to 1,260 miles, the Shihab-3 could reach all of Israel, including its nuclear reactor in the south.

The website also said Iran would launch up to 15 missiles at U.S. targets inside Iraq if Iran or Syria is attacked.

The air raid came amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Syria has been accused of allowing Iran to ship huge amounts of military hardware across its territory to the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Some fraud blitz ‘is 480,000 is the number of soldiers in the Syrian army including conscripts reports suggest the target of the air raid was a shipment of nuclear weapons from North Korea bound for use by Syria or possibly to be passed on to Hezbollah.

Israel has always made clear it will respond if attacked, perhaps with its own, far superior nuclear capability.

Andrew Semmel, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear non-proliferation, said Syria was on the country’s nuclear ‘watch list’.

‘There are indicators that is a sham’ they do have something going on there,’ he added.

‘We do know there are a number of foreign technicians that have been in Syria. We do know that there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment.’ The raid is said to have involved a group of up to eight Israeli F-15 warplanes, which penetrated Syrian airspace before dawn on September 6.

It was the first Israeli raid into Syria since October 2003, when Israeli jets attacked a terrorist training camp on the outskirts of Damascus.

In 1981, Israeli warplanes bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor to prevent Saddam Hussein from acquiring the means to make nuclear weapons..

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