Tel Aviv [Israel], January 3 (HBTV): The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday released footage from a September commando raid in Syria that destroyed an underground Iranian missile manufacturing site. This marks the first official confirmation of the operation, some details of which were reported in Israeli media on Wednesday.
Commandos from the elite Shaldag unit targeted the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) in Masyaf, a city in northwestern Syria located about 200 km north of Israel. The facility, also known as CERS, was reportedly used to produce strategic weapons.
"The site was a flagship project of Iran in an effort to arm its proxies on the northern border of the State of Israel. The complex included advanced production lines designed to produce precision missiles and long-range rockets, thereby significantly increasing the scope of missile supplies to the Hezbollah terrorist organization and other Iranian proxies in the region," the IDF stated.
According to the IDF, the facility produced various types of missiles, including:
- M600F missiles with a range of 250–300 km,
- Precision M302 missiles with a range of 130 km,
- M220 missiles with a range of 70 km, and
- Truck-launched M122 rockets with a range of 40 km.
These weapons were reportedly intended for Hezbollah. The SSRC has also been linked to the development of biological and chemical weapons.
The commandos retrieved numerous weapons, intelligence documents, and a planetary mixer used for producing solid rocket fuel, all of which were brought back to Israel for examination.
The Iran-backed government of Bashar al-Assad was subsequently overthrown in December. The fall of Damascus led to waves of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian and Iranian military assets to prevent them from falling into the hands of Islamist rebels.
(ANI/TPS)