Israel targets Syrian chemical weapon facility

According to the Washington Post, Israeli aircraft attacked a Syrian military facility believed to contain chemical weapons.

Syria’s army command said the attack occurred at 2:42 a.m. near the western town of Masyaf, which military analysts say hosts a branch of the government agency responsible for developing and producing nonconventional weapons and precision missiles. Syria said two soldiers were killed when missiles were fired from Lebanese airspace. It warned of “serious repercussions of such acts of aggression on the security and stability of the region.”

Israel has previously struck weapons convoys it has suspected of carrying arms to Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite militia that is fighting in Syria in support of the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Israel has said repeatedly that it sees the transfer to Hezbollah of advanced weaponry such as guided rockets as a red line.

Almost ten years ago to the day, Israel conducted Operation Orchard which destroyed a suspected nuclear reactor facility built by the North Koreans in Syria.

According to the Post article, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had observed Hezbollah fighters training in the camp next to the chemical weapons facility in recent months as Hezbollah gears up for another season of attacks on Israel.

Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, said rockets from the production facility had been transferred to Hezbollah in the past.

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Israel estimates that Hezbollah has a stockpile of more than 150,000 rockets, but it is concerned that Iran is attempting to provide the group with the capacity to build more accurate precision missiles.