7/17 Middle East Live Thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1666537/posts?page=3202 ^ | 7/17/06 | me

[BurbankKarl]

09:02 Amir Peretz: We won`t stop fighting before achieving our objectives (Haaretz)

08:52 Barrage of Katyusha rockets hits Kiryat Shmona (Itim)

08:48 IDF arrested 12 wanted Palestinian militants in overnight West Bank raids (Itim)

08:32 Two Qassam rockets land in Ashkelon; no casualties or damage reported (Channel 10)

08:07 One IDF soldier lightly injured in fighting in northern Gaza Strip (Israel Radio)

07:57 Asia-Pacific officials working to evacuate citizens from Lebanon (AP)

07:31 Rocket barrage slams into Safed; no immediate report of casualties, damage (Haaretz)

07:30 Two people lightly injured in Acre from rocket hits (Haaretz)

07:21 Alarm sirens heard in Tiberias, no hits reported as yet (Channel 10)

07:20 Two people lightly wounded by sharpnel in Qassam hits on Sderot (Haaretz)

07:07 Lebanese: IDF attacks Beirut port; large fire breaks out (AP)

07:00 Third Qassam rocket hits Sderot; no casualties reported (Haaretz)

06:56 IDF soldier injured in Beit Hanun (Haaretz)

06:49 Katyusha rocket hits community near northern town of Acre; 4 people injured (Haaretz)

06:43 Two loud explosions rock southern suburbs of Beirut (AP)

06:37 Two Qassam rockets hit Sderot; no casualties (Israel Radio)

06:16 Lebanese: 17 fatalities, 9 of them soldiers, in latest round of IDF strikes (Israel Radio)

06:13 Qassam rocket hits western Negev; no casualties (Israel Radio)

06:08 IAF strikes over 50 targets in Lebanon in overnight attacks (Israel Radio)

06:05 IDF says air raid sirens in Haifa were false alarm (Israel Radio)

06:03 Air raid sirens sound in Haifa (AP)

05:46 IDF: Lebanese military involved in Friday attack on Israeli ship (AP)

05:43 IDF: Radar stations targeted were used in Friday attack on Israeli ship (AP)

05:37 IDF: Latest attacks in Lebanon are against radar stations used by Hezbollah (AP)

05:13 Israel blames Hizbollah after Canadian deaths in southern Lebanon (Reuters)

04:35 Oil surges back toward record highs after weekend of Middle East violence (Reuters)

04:13 13 killed, including 8 soldiers, in renewed overnight IDF attacks in Lebanon (AP)

03:21 EU foreign ministers discuss diplomatic options in effort to end Mideast violence (AP)

[ScaniaBoy]

Jul. 17, 2006 20:08
IDF destroys long-range Iranian missile in Lebanon
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

An Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Monday destroyed at least one long-range Iranian missile capable of hitting Tel Aviv, military officials said.

The officials said Israeli aircraft targeted a truck carrying the weapons before they could be launched. The force of the blast sent at least one missile flying into the air, but it fell nearby. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under military regulations.

During nearly a week of fighting, Hizbullah operatives have fired missiles up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) into Israel. But officials have raised concerns the guerrilla group could strike Tel Aviv, about 125 kilometers (80 miles) south of the border with Lebanon.

[Allegra]

An Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Monday destroyed at least one long-range Iranian missile capable of hitting Tel Aviv, military officials said.

Good start.

[Fitzcarraldo]

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/zelzal-2.htm

The number of names and naming systems attributed to Iranian missile programs is evidently far larger than the number of actual missile programs. One case in point may be the 200 km range Mushak-200 which is reported to be in development, that may be the Zelzal-2. The Zelzal-2 missile system was made available for sale by Iran in 1996. It has a length of 8.46 m and a diameter of 0.61 m, with a launch weight of 3,545 kg. It carries its 600 kg warhead to a maximum range of 200 km (124 miles).

The Zelzal-2 is apparently a locally produced version of the Luna-M [NATO name FROG-7] missile with a launcher based on the MB LA-911 truck chassis. The 8.3 meter-long rocket has a range that is variously estimated at between 100km to 400km, though 200km is the most widely quoted estimate and 100km is the most likely estimate based on the performance of the Soviet missile. The Zelzal-2 is armed with a 600kg high-explosive warhead, and some suggest that it may be able to carry chemical and biological payloads.

It is possible that Zelzal-2 missiles were used against Iraqi terrorist training camps in 2001, and the Fateh A-110 is believed to be a guided variant.

In October 2002 it was reported that Iranian Zelzal-2 short-range ballistic missiles had been delivered to Iranian Revolutionary Guard units in the Beka'a Valley in Lebanon. Israelis sources frequently claim that long-range rockets have been transferred to Lebanon, including 240mm versions of the standard 122mm 'Katyusha' rocket, and Iranian Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 rockets. Hizbullah typically refuses to confirm or deny such reports. However, in late October 2002 Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, a senior Hizbullah official, hinted at the group's reach, saying that "all sensitive areas of the Zionist entity are within the range of our fire... wherever they exist".

[CAluvdubya]

I had to leave for a minute. Was this on FNC?

[Arizona Carolyn]

Really??? I heard on Fox Hezbollah is firing mostly in daytime to keep Israel from seeing their locations and taking out the weaponry.

[txhurl]

I can't find the map even though I see it here at least once a week. Looking.

[BurbankKarl]

I am sure that is what I just saw on Lebanese TV (via CNN Pipeline).....more like 4 semis.....there was a road, and all the truck wreckage is lying in a huge hole. One missile ignited, flew up in the air, came down and blew up someones house.

[ScaniaBoy]

Ooops, missed your post!

[Fitzcarraldo]

"...In October 2002 it was reported that Iranian Zelzal-2 short-range ballistic missiles had been delivered to Iranian Revolutionary Guard units in the Beka'a Valley in Lebanon...."

[KylaStarr]

http://ianlivingston.com/threatmatrix/Terrorist_network_map.gif

Here's the map.

[eeevil conservative]

LOL!

[JimSEA]

[T]his is an excellent opportunity to rid us of some vermin.

Yes, plus it would be payback for having contributed to this mess in the first place. I am not saying they were responsible but they didn't help.

[BurbankKarl]

Now they are showing Tyre.

[Allegra]

'Night all. It's getting late here and I'm off to study the insides of my eyelids for a few hours.

I'll catch up on the latest right here on this thread in the morning.

Keep on keepin' on.

[del4hope]

Thanks. It looks like there are four cities here in the US where both groups could be working together. NYC, DC, Detroit and Houston.

[Michael Goldsberry]

Nite.

Allah FUBAR!

[ScaniaBoy]

Ok, so that's one misdirected and at least one destroyed.

Since they can't get any new ones, little by little their forces are wittled down.

And in the end the Christians and the Druze may decide to take their revenge on hezbollah, who no longer will have big brother Syria to defend them.

rebel_yell2 (Godspeed BTW) said he thought the Lebanese army was about to split along religious lines. Maybe the Druze party will side with the Christians this time though.

[del4hope]

Good night. Rest well.

[BurbankKarl]

Oh, it was more than one....it was three shipping containers, and one very long trailer covered with blue tarps. The film crew caught it on film before the bombing in the distance. Then they drove back to the impact site.