مسؤولون أميركيون : إسرائيل استهدفت صواريخ روسية الصنع في ميناء اللاذقية
Israel targeted Russian-made missiles in Syria, US officials say
Reports suggest Israel attacked anti-ship cruise missiles sent to Assad regime near the port of Latakia
هاجمت اسرائيل صواريخ كروز المضادة للسفن المرسلة إلى نظام الأسد بالقرب من ميناء اللاذقية
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Photograph: AFP
US officials say Israel targeted advanced anti-ship cruise missiles nearSyria's principal port city, Latakia, in an air attack this month, the New York Times reported.
The officials say the attack on 5 July near Latakia targeted a type of Russian-made missile called the Yakhont that Russia had sold to the Syrian government, the paper's website reported. Russia is a key political ally and arms supplier of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The officials provided no details on the strike, including the extent of the damage and how many missiles were used. The Times reported that the officials declined to be identified because they were discussing intelligence reports.
Israel maintains it is not involved in Syria's two-year-old civil war except to stop weapons transfers. The strike near Latakia was the fourth known air strike in Syria by Israel this year, the newspaper reported.
The attack came to light after Syrian rebels said they were not behind the explosions in Latakia on 5 July, according to the Times. Neither US nor Israeli officials have commented publicly on the report.
Reports surfaced earlier this year that Russia had delivered an advanced version of its Yakhont anti-ship cruise missile to Assad's regime even though Russia had said it was committed to peace talks. Those reports prompted the US to complain in May about an "ill-timed" step by Russia.
Such weapons would help to upgrade significantly Syria's capacity to target manned planes, drones and incoming missiles and would complicate efforts to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria if the US and other nations were to initiate one.
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