http://www.debka.com/article/22055/Rebels-set-Syrian-fighter-jets-and-helicopters-ablaze-opposite-Golan
http://www.debka.com/article/22053/Turkey-ditches-Syrian-rebels-Will-Israel-attack-Hizballah-s-Scuds-
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 2, 2012, 7:44 PM (GMT+02:00)
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Jun-01/175358-syrian-group-claims-abduction-of-lebanese-demands-nasrallah-apologize.ashx#axzz1wb7ImfyP
( confirmation that Hezbollah officials kidnapped... )
* * *
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati briefed Friday both Hezbollah and the Amal Movement on his talks with Turkish officials regarding the Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria last month.
Mikati’s meeting came hours before Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's expected speech in response to the group that claimed the abduction late Thursday and demanded that the Hezbollah chief apologize for his support of Assad.
Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, who is also a political aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, along with Nasrallah’s chief political aide Hussein Khalil met at the Grand Serail with Mikati and Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour, who accompanied the prime minister to Turkey.
Mikati returned Thursday from Turkey, where he met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said his country would continue “intensive efforts” aimed at securing the release of the kidnapped.
Ministerial sources told The Daily Star Friday that the case of the kidnapped Lebanese was "long and complicated," but said that Turkish officials will continue with their efforts.
An unknown Syrian rebel group claimed the abduction of 11 missing Lebanese pilgrims Thursday night, and said that releasing them was contingent on Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah apologizing for his support of Syria.
"The kidnapped Lebanese are our guests and they are in good health ... negotiations to release the Lebanese are possible after Nasrallah apologizes for his last speech, in which he renewed his party's support for the regime of Bashar Assad," said the statement aired by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera.The statement added that the rebels decided to extend the abductees' sojourn among them for several reasons, including the "fact that five of them are officers in Hezbollah, as well as the Houla massacre and Nasrallah's latest speech," which the group described as provocative.
* * *
and......
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/20126118451618239.html
( partial confirmation of Debka story of recent kidnappings.. )
and...
http://www.debka.com/article/22051/Syrian-rebels-abduct-5-top-Hizballah-officers-including-Nasrallah%E2%80%99s-nephew
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 1, 2012, 6:11 PM (GMT+02:00)
Rebels set Syrian fighter jets and helicopters ablaze opposite Golan
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 3, 2012, 10:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
Introducing the new Syrian rebel contraption: T-HOMS 75
As Syrian ruler Bashar Assad stood before parliament in Damascus Sunday, June 3, declaring, “Not even monsters could have carried out the Houla massacre,” rebels attacked a Syrian Air Force base east of the southern town of Deraa opposite the Israeli Golan border – their first such attack in the 14-month uprising,
DEBKAfile’s military sources report. Several rebel bands firing mortars set fire to fighter aircraft and assault helicopters in their hangars and ripped up runways at the As Suwayda air base.
The burning warplanes were a strategic bull’s eye for the anti-Assad revolt.
The air base they attacked is Syria’s southernmost air facility. It is positioned to be available for backing up the Syrian units posted on the Golan border opposite Israeli forces - the 5th, 7th, and 10th Divisions. Arrayed behind them in reserve is the 9th Division, the only one the regime has never enlisted for operations to crush the revolt.
The air fleet housed at As Suwayda is there to provide air cover for Syrian border units in the event of a war with Israel and engage Israeli warplanes coming into to attack the divisions on the ground. It is also entrusted with providing air cover for the forces posted in the Jordanian and Iraqi border sectors.
No information was immediately available about the number or types of aircraft destroyed by the rebels or casualties. The Syrian state media have not disclosed the incident.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report. Several rebel bands firing mortars set fire to fighter aircraft and assault helicopters in their hangars and ripped up runways at the As Suwayda air base.
The burning warplanes were a strategic bull’s eye for the anti-Assad revolt.
The air base they attacked is Syria’s southernmost air facility. It is positioned to be available for backing up the Syrian units posted on the Golan border opposite Israeli forces - the 5th, 7th, and 10th Divisions. Arrayed behind them in reserve is the 9th Division, the only one the regime has never enlisted for operations to crush the revolt.
The air fleet housed at As Suwayda is there to provide air cover for Syrian border units in the event of a war with Israel and engage Israeli warplanes coming into to attack the divisions on the ground. It is also entrusted with providing air cover for the forces posted in the Jordanian and Iraqi border sectors.
No information was immediately available about the number or types of aircraft destroyed by the rebels or casualties. The Syrian state media have not disclosed the incident.
In northern Syria, our military sources reveal that in the last few days the rebels are showing up with a new piece of war materiel, improvised armored vehicles sporting anti-air rockets or heavy machine guns. They are capable of downing the aircraft or combat helicopters the regime is increasingly sending to attack the heavily embattled protest centers in that region.
These APC’s are essentially Toyota pickups fitted with steel plates to protect teams of three rebel fighters each behind the rockets and machine guns. Their homemade APCs are dubbed “T-HOMS 75.”
These APC’s are essentially Toyota pickups fitted with steel plates to protect teams of three rebel fighters each behind the rockets and machine guns. Their homemade APCs are dubbed “T-HOMS 75.”
http://www.debka.com/article/22053/Turkey-ditches-Syrian-rebels-Will-Israel-attack-Hizballah-s-Scuds-
Turkey ditches Syrian rebels. Will Israel attack Hizballah's Scuds?
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 2, 2012, 7:44 PM (GMT+02:00)
Scud D ground-to-ground missile
Two radical developments arising from the Syrian conflict are revealed by DEBKAfile: In an astonishing about face, Turkey has just turned away from its 14-month support for the anti-Assad revolt alongside the West and made common cause with Russia, i.e. Bashar Assad. Further exacerbating fears of a “proxy war” involving Israel, Iran and Syria, the Lebanese Hizballah is getting ready to bring its Scud D missiles, which can reach any point in Israel, and other advanced weapons, including anti-air missiles, out of secret storage in Syria and transfer them across the border to Lebanon. Two years ago, Israel issued an ultimatum through Washington that the Scuds would be destroyed if they were moved over to Hizballah’s launching pads in Lebanon.
The Lebanese Shiite group has since kept its most advanced hardware stashed at the Syrian Al Hame and Al Zabadani military bases near Damascus.
The Lebanese Shiite group has since kept its most advanced hardware stashed at the Syrian Al Hame and Al Zabadani military bases near Damascus.
Now that Syrian rebel attacks are closing in on Syrian military targets, Tehran and Hizballah leaders are working on plans to get them across into Lebanon without exposing them to Israeli attack.
One plan is to enlist the Palestinian Jihad Islami in the Gaza Strip and exploit a clash over the Scuds’ transfer as a trigger for an all round military offensive against Israel. It would be timed for the moment the Western-Arab intervention in Syria against President Assad crosses the line between covert and overt military action and begins an operation to establish safe zones as bases for rebel operation.
Washington, London and Paris began rushing forward contingency plans for this eventuality upon discovering that Ankara had secretly notified leaders of the rebel Free Syrian Army Thursday, May 31 that it had withdrawn permission for them to launch operations against the Assad regime from Turkish soil.
One plan is to enlist the Palestinian Jihad Islami in the Gaza Strip and exploit a clash over the Scuds’ transfer as a trigger for an all round military offensive against Israel. It would be timed for the moment the Western-Arab intervention in Syria against President Assad crosses the line between covert and overt military action and begins an operation to establish safe zones as bases for rebel operation.
Washington, London and Paris began rushing forward contingency plans for this eventuality upon discovering that Ankara had secretly notified leaders of the rebel Free Syrian Army Thursday, May 31 that it had withdrawn permission for them to launch operations against the Assad regime from Turkish soil.
It was then realized that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had stabbed Western-Arab Syrian policy in the back and moved over to help prop Assad up at the very moment his regime was on the point of buckling under international after-shocks from the systematic massacres of his own people.
That day, Erdogan’s betrayal was confirmed when Davutoglu announced over Turkish NTV: “We have never advised either the Syrian National Council or the Syrian administration to conduct an armed fight, and we will never do so.” He added: “The Syrian people will be the driving force that eventually topples the Syrian regime. Assad will leave as a result of the people’s will.”
That day, Erdogan’s betrayal was confirmed when Davutoglu announced over Turkish NTV: “We have never advised either the Syrian National Council or the Syrian administration to conduct an armed fight, and we will never do so.” He added: “The Syrian people will be the driving force that eventually topples the Syrian regime. Assad will leave as a result of the people’s will.”
This was precisely the view voiced this week by Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he spoke out against violent rebellion, military intervention and sanctions to topple the Syrian ruler.
For the time being, the pro-Assad Moscow-Tehran front, bolstered now by Ankara, has got the better of Western and Arab policies for Syria. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Bashar Assad and Hassan Nasrallah have drawn encouragement for advancing to their next step: to confront the United States and Israel with another accomplished fact, the deployment of Scuds aimed at Israel from Lebanon.
Failing to curtail their transfer across the Syrian-Lebanese border in compliance with its 2010 ultimatum will seriously shake Israel’s deterrent capabilities and undercut its military credibility against its enemies, including Iran.
If on the other hand, the Obama administration again holds Israel back from military action, this time to destroy the long-range Scuds, Bashar Assad, Hizballah and Tehran will be awarded a winning hand – and not only in Syria.
For the time being, the pro-Assad Moscow-Tehran front, bolstered now by Ankara, has got the better of Western and Arab policies for Syria. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Bashar Assad and Hassan Nasrallah have drawn encouragement for advancing to their next step: to confront the United States and Israel with another accomplished fact, the deployment of Scuds aimed at Israel from Lebanon.
Failing to curtail their transfer across the Syrian-Lebanese border in compliance with its 2010 ultimatum will seriously shake Israel’s deterrent capabilities and undercut its military credibility against its enemies, including Iran.
If on the other hand, the Obama administration again holds Israel back from military action, this time to destroy the long-range Scuds, Bashar Assad, Hizballah and Tehran will be awarded a winning hand – and not only in Syria.
and.....
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Jun-01/175358-syrian-group-claims-abduction-of-lebanese-demands-nasrallah-apologize.ashx#axzz1wb7ImfyP
( confirmation that Hezbollah officials kidnapped... )
* * *
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati briefed Friday both Hezbollah and the Amal Movement on his talks with Turkish officials regarding the Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria last month.
Mikati’s meeting came hours before Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's expected speech in response to the group that claimed the abduction late Thursday and demanded that the Hezbollah chief apologize for his support of Assad.
Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, who is also a political aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, along with Nasrallah’s chief political aide Hussein Khalil met at the Grand Serail with Mikati and Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour, who accompanied the prime minister to Turkey.
Mikati returned Thursday from Turkey, where he met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said his country would continue “intensive efforts” aimed at securing the release of the kidnapped.
Ministerial sources told The Daily Star Friday that the case of the kidnapped Lebanese was "long and complicated," but said that Turkish officials will continue with their efforts.
An unknown Syrian rebel group claimed the abduction of 11 missing Lebanese pilgrims Thursday night, and said that releasing them was contingent on Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah apologizing for his support of Syria.
"The kidnapped Lebanese are our guests and they are in good health ... negotiations to release the Lebanese are possible after Nasrallah apologizes for his last speech, in which he renewed his party's support for the regime of Bashar Assad," said the statement aired by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera.The statement added that the rebels decided to extend the abductees' sojourn among them for several reasons, including the "fact that five of them are officers in Hezbollah, as well as the Houla massacre and Nasrallah's latest speech," which the group described as provocative.
* * *
and......
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/06/20126118451618239.html
( partial confirmation of Debka story of recent kidnappings.. )
| Hezbollah demands hostages in Syria be freed | |
Hassan Nasrallah calls for the release of Lebanese Shia pilgrims held in Syria, saying they are innocent civilians.
Last Modified: 01 Jun 2012 19:55
| |
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered the speech via video link from an undisclosed location [EPA]
| |
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has called for the release of Lebanese Shia pilgrims held in Syria in a televised speech.
|
and...
http://www.debka.com/article/22051/Syrian-rebels-abduct-5-top-Hizballah-officers-including-Nasrallah%E2%80%99s-nephew
Syrian rebels abduct 5 top Hizballah officers, including Nasrallah’s nephew
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 1, 2012, 6:11 PM (GMT+02:00)
HIzballah security chief Wafiq Safa married to Nasrallah's sister
The Lebanese Shiite Hizballah, after a 25-year record of kidnap and murder against Israelis, Americans and other Westerners, was dismayed to find the shoe on the other foot this week when Syrian rebels, including members of the Syrian Free Army, announced they were holding two separate groups of its members.
The first group of eleven was captured May 22 in a bus heading home through Aleppo from a pilgrimage to Iran. The second episode sent shock waves rolling as far as Tehran and the Al Qods Brigades command. DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources reveal that still unidentified commandos, guided apparently by precise intelligence, this week commandeered a Hizballah vehicle driving through Syria and captured five top-ranking Hizballah officers. A sixth escaped. Upon reaching Beirut, he reported the officers were being held hostage by the SFA.
Despite the veil of secrecy clamped down on the episode, DEBKAfile exclusively names the kidnapped officers as Ali Safa, a senior officer of Hizballah’s intelligence service and nephew of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. (His father Wafiq Safa, head of the organization’s internal security agency, is married to Nasrallah’s sister.)
The first group of eleven was captured May 22 in a bus heading home through Aleppo from a pilgrimage to Iran. The second episode sent shock waves rolling as far as Tehran and the Al Qods Brigades command. DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources reveal that still unidentified commandos, guided apparently by precise intelligence, this week commandeered a Hizballah vehicle driving through Syria and captured five top-ranking Hizballah officers. A sixth escaped. Upon reaching Beirut, he reported the officers were being held hostage by the SFA.
Despite the veil of secrecy clamped down on the episode, DEBKAfile exclusively names the kidnapped officers as Ali Safa, a senior officer of Hizballah’s intelligence service and nephew of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. (His father Wafiq Safa, head of the organization’s internal security agency, is married to Nasrallah’s sister.)
The abducted party also included Hussein Hamid, Dep. Commander of Hizballah forces in South Lebanon; Ali Zerayb, member of the Hizballah Jihad Council – the equivalent of its general command; Hassan Arzouni, chief of intelligence in the Bint Jbeil district bordering on Israel; and Aras Shoeib, head of training in the Beqaa Valley of E. Lebanon.
Our sources report the group was ambushed 15 kilometers west of Damascus after they left the Syrian military base of Al-Hame 4 kilometers from the Syrian capital. It is there that Hizballah maintains its heavy Scud D long-range missiles, as well as its Fajr, Zelzal and Fateh 110 rockets.
Our sources report the group was ambushed 15 kilometers west of Damascus after they left the Syrian military base of Al-Hame 4 kilometers from the Syrian capital. It is there that Hizballah maintains its heavy Scud D long-range missiles, as well as its Fajr, Zelzal and Fateh 110 rockets.
It is suspected at Hizballah headquarters in Beirut that the vehicle carrying the officers was tracked from the air and directions were beamed down to the abductors who waited in ambush.
Hizballah’s masters in Tehran were dismayed to find the core leadership of their Lebanese surrogate had fallen into hostile hands amid the international crisis befalling their foremost ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad - and practically under his nose.
Hizballah’s masters in Tehran were dismayed to find the core leadership of their Lebanese surrogate had fallen into hostile hands amid the international crisis befalling their foremost ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad - and practically under his nose.
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