Posted on 07/31/2003 9:47:08 AM PDT by knighthawk
MOSCOW: Ten shoulder-fired missile launchers stolen from a Russian naval arsenal have been recovered and returned, a military official said on Thursday.
The Strela-1 missile launchers were stolen two weeks ago from an arsenal in Bolshiye Izhory outside St Petersburg.
Police have identified the thief of the missiles and the stolen weapons have been returned to the arsenal, Mikhail Yanenko, press officer for the military prosecutor general's office said.
Separatist rebels in Russia's Chechnya region have often used shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down Russian helicopters, including three that were shot down last year near the main Russian military base in Chechnya.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov was quoted as saying last month that a Russian Strela system was used to fire missiles that just missed an Israeli charter plane after it took off from Mombasa, Kenya, last November with 271 people on board. US officials believe al-Qaeda launched the attack.
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