Hizballah Using Advanced, Iranian Anti-Tank Missiles in Syria
by IPT News • Feb 2, 2016 at 12:14 pm
http://www.investigativeproject.org/5145/hizballah-using-advanced-iranian-anti-tank# Hizballah terrorists are using Iranian-made anti-tank missiles in Syria that could be used against Israel in a future confrontation, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has learned.
On Sunday, Iranian news agency ABNA reported that Hizballah is using Toophan anti-tank missiles manufactured by Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization.
The Toophan is a reverse-engineered version of the American military BGM-71 TOW missile, with a payload of 3.6 kg warhead that is capable of penetrating up to 550mm of steel armor. The missile can reach a top speed of 310 m/s, with a range of 3,850m.
Israel frequently has voiced concerns over Hizballah acquiring sophisticated weaponry – including new Iranian anti-tank missiles – that could end up being utilized against in a future battle between Israel and the Shi'ite terrorist organization.
This development comes amid growing Iranian expansion in Syria and throughout the region. Since the launch of Iran's October ground operation in northern Syria, more than 135 Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troops have been killed, according to a report written by Raz Zimmt – an expert on Iran's political and social networks.
Click here for the full analysis published by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
The commander of IRGC's Qods Force – Qassem Soleimani – was also seen in public Jan. 21, his first appearance since he was reported injured in Syria. Soleimani spoke at a memorial service for an IRGC brigadier general killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in January 2015 near Quneitra in the southern Golan Heights. That airstrike also killed six Hizballah terrorists, including Jihad Mugniyeh, son of arch-terrorist Imad Mugniyeh.
Iran is working with Hizballah and other terrorist organizations, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to set up a base of operations along the Syrian border to target the Jewish state.
Iran has also increased its interventions in Iraq and Yemen in recent months, as the Islamic Republic seeks to expand its presence throughout the Middle East in an effort to achieve regional hegemony.
