Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Syrian security forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large shipment of advanced weapons across the country’s border with Iraq that was destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Interior Ministry announced on July 16.
In a statement, the ministry said security forces intercepted the shipment before it entered Syrian territory after detecting a suspicious vehicle parked near the border.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a cache of weapons, including long-range missiles, anti-tank guided missiles and drones, it added.
Preliminary investigations, based on evidence collected during the operation, indicated that the shipment was intended to transit Syrian territory en route to “the Hezbollah terror group,” according to the ministry.
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
The ministry noted that investigations were continuing to determine the full circumstances of the case, identify all those involved and uncover the networks behind the smuggling operation.
It said protecting Syria’s borders and safeguarding national sovereignty remained a top priority, adding that authorities would not allow Syrian territory to be used as a corridor or launching point for arms smuggling or any activities threatening Syria’s security or that of neighboring countries.
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Photos released by the ministry revealed that the shipment included dozens of fiber-optic-guided first-person view (FPV) suicide quadcopters, a dozen Iranian-made Almas optically-guided anti-tank guided missiles, and several disassembled cruise missiles of unknown types.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi official told Al Jazeera that the weapon shipment was sized near al-Tanf border crossing more than a week earlier, precisely on July 7.
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Click to see full-size image. (Syrian Interior Ministry)
Hezbollah lost its main supply routes through Syria with the fall of the regime of former president, Bashar al-Assad, more than a year ago. Since then, there have been many reports of the group attempting to revive some of these routes, and several shipments have been seized by Syrian security forces, although they were much smaller and included less advanced weapons.
Tensions between Syria and Hezbollah have been on the rise for a while now, mainly due to calls by United States President Donald Trump for a Syrian-led intervention in Lebanon against the group.
In fact, the seizure of the weapons shipment came just a day after Trump renewed his calls, saying the Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa would “take care” of Hezbollah in a different way from Israel.
“He wouldn’t knock down buildings. I’d hate to see buildings knocked down,” Trump told Fox News on July 15, adding that he believes Sharaa would be “more precise” than Israel.
Sharaa has denied any intention of becoming involved more than once, but there have been reports of a Syrian military buildup along the border with Lebanon.
Any intervention by Syria, led by Islamist Sunnis, against Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon is guaranteed to spark a violent sectarian conflict that could quickly spread outside the two countries. Iraqi armed factions loyal to Iran will almost certainly intervene, and the Islamic Republic itself could get involved.
Trump’s claim about such an intervention being “more precise” than Israel couldn’t be more inaccurate, but a new sectarian-fueled regional conflict may be exactly what the U.S. is looking for after failing to take down Iran in the recent war.
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the zionists have fully exploited the sunni vs. shiite divide and have muslims killing each other for the advancement of zionism.
for ur infomation manny sunni muslim are hypocrite .dont call them muslim call them munafiq . shia always stayed away from sectrian conflict between muslim but this sunni extrmist want to kill shia and serve zionist . thats why shia dont have choice but to defend them from zionist whabhi alliances
servants of zionism, they will all burn in hell.
so the hts catches us weapons that are going into hezbollah’s hands. interesting.
we are going to carve lebanon just like we did syria…heheheh