Report: Israel notified US of Syria strike
Israeli attack targeted shipment of sophisticated antiaircraft missiles meant for Hezbollah, US papers say
American officials told the New York Times Wednesday that Israel informed the US about the attack, which the sources believe targeted a convoy of trucks carrying sophisticated antiaircraft weaponry meant for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that the convoy that was attacked on the outskirts of Damascus was transporting SA-17 antiaircraft weapons that could cut into Israel's ability to fly reconnaissance flights over Lebanon.
Sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal reiterated the preliminary assertion that a shipment of antiaircraft missiles was bombed, even though Syria maintained that such accounts were wrong. Instead, Syria's military said, Israeli jets had attacked a military facility near Damascus.
But US officials told the WSJ the reports of two targets – the arms convoy and the military site – we're not mutually exclusive. The Hezbollah-bound trucks may have been close to a military facility, they said, cautioning their information is incomplete.
The US State Department and Defense Department would not comment on reports of the strike by Israel, whose Military Intelligence Chief Aviv Kochavi is currently in Washington for talks with top US general Martin Dempsey.
"I'd refer you to the government of Israel for questions about deliberations or actions that they may or may not have taken," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday.
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