Report: US warned Sudan before strike

A senior American official contacted a high-ranking Sudanese official before the alleged Israeli strikes on a Hamas weapons convoy and alerted him to the fact that the arms smuggling route going through the country to the Gaza Strip was being monitored by a third party and that the smuggling must be stopped immediately, the London-based Arabic-language al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Monday, quoting "reliable" sources.

According to the report, the US source asked the Sudanese official to relay the warning immediately to the government in Khartoum. When asked about the authorities' response to the American warning, the source said that "the relevant Sudanese officials promised to look into the matter."

The paper also reported that the strikes were carried out shortly after the warning was made, which led Sudan to believe that they were conducted by the United States, a claim which was later denied by Washington.

Sudanese officials then pointed the finger at Israel, which has not responded to the allegations.

Simultaneously, American sources denied that the US had struck in Sudan. "The American forces did not carry out any aerial attack, did not fire any missile and did not conduct any military operation in Sudan and its surroundings," the report said.

The strike was revealed on Thursday on American television network CBS. According to the report, 17 trucks were bombed in January, leaving 39 people dead. State and army officials said in response that Israel would not comment on such reports.

On Saturday, American ABC network reported that Israel had struck in Sunday three times since January, and not twice as reported earlier. Official sources in the United States have confirmed that the raid was carried out by Israeli warplanes.