Tel Aviv [Israel], January 2 (ANI/TPS): The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday released for the first time footage from a September commando raid deep inside Syria which destroyed an underground Iranian missile manufacturing site. It was the first official confirmation of the raid, of which some details were reported in the Israeli media on Wednesday.
Commandos from the elite Shaldag unit raided the Scientific Studies and Research Center in the northwestern Syrian city of Masyaf on September 8, about 200 km north of Israel. The facility, also known as known as CERS or SSRC, was used to produce strategic weapons.
"The site was a flagship project of Iran in an effort to arm its proxies on the northern border of the State of Israel. The complex included advanced production lines designed to produce precision missiles and long-range rockets, thereby significantly increasing the scope of missile supplies to the Hezbollah terrorist organization and other Iranian proxies in the region," the IDF said.
The facility produced M600F missiles with a range of 250-300 km, precision M302 missiles with a range of 130 km, M220 missiles with a range of 70 km, and truck-launched M122 rockets with a 40-km-range, the army said. These missiles were intended for use by Hezbollah.
CERS was also widely associated with biological and chemical weapons technology.
The commandos brought back to Israel numerous weapons, intelligence documents and a planetary mixer for further examination. The planetary mixer was used to produce solid rocket fuel.
The Iran-backed government of Bashar Assad was subsequently overthrown in December. The fall of Damascus prompted waves of Israeli airstrikes on Syrian and Iranian military assets to prevent them from falling into the hands of Islamist rebels. (ANI/TPS)