Israel sets up field hospital in Golan to treat Syria militants

Via :  Strategic-Culture.org

The Israeli military has set up a “military field hospital” in the occupied Golan Heights to treat wounded foreign-backed militants fighting against the government in neighboring Syria.

According to an AFP report, Israeli authorities confirmed the hospital was built at military outpost 105 in the occupied Syrian territories where injured militants fighting against Damascus are being treated near the Syrian border.

Reports further indicate that 11 anti-Damascus militants, who were wounded during the ongoing violence in Syria, have been sent to hospitals in northern Israel for treatment last month. Eight of them returned to Syria, while another three remained in Israel for further treatment.

On Wednesday, two militants, who were critically wounded in Syria, were reportedly evacuated to Israeli hospitals under the authorization of the Israeli military. One of them was pronounced dead several hours after being hospitalized with the other one in critical conditions.

The report clearly proves Israel's support for the militants fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Israel Mulls Buffer Zone on Border With Syria

Source  :  StratRisks

Editor’s Note: This may develop into a de-facto no fly zone, with Turkey and their patriot missile defense systems and Israel if they decide to position their Iron Dome system on the Golan heights. Now that Turkey and Israel have decided to bury the hatchets, Syria will be priority one. NATO and the US does not want to see Assad fall without being in a command and control position. Syrians are not going to stand by while the Muslim Brotherhood steps into key political positions and run the country with western backing. Assad is just the tip of the iceberg.

An Israeli general has raised the possibility of creating a buffer zone in Syria, in cooperation with local forces wary of jihadist fighters, should President Bashar al-Assad be toppled.

Major-General Yair Golan said “many hundreds” of radical Islamists were fighting in Syria’s two-year-old civil war and could “take root” in Israel’s northern neighbour should Assad fall.

He said the Israeli military was working on the assumption that these fighters would ultimately launch attacks against Israel, which captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

“One measure we certainly cannot rule out is to create a security zone on the other side of the border,” Golan, head of the military’s northern command, said in an interview published on Monday in the Yisrael Hayom daily.

Golan, who oversees Israeli forces on the Syrian and Lebanese frontiers, did not say whether he envisages the deployment of Israeli troops in such a buffer area.

Syrians “with a common interest in cooperating with us” against radical Islamist fighters would be Israel’s natural allies in any such security zone, Golan said.

“If an opportunity presents itself – and it hasn’t as yet – we should not hesitate,” he said. “Everything should be done wisely and secretly, with a true examination of where the interests of the other side lie.”

Golan pointed to the example of the “security zone” Israeli forces maintained for 15 years in southern Lebanon with the stated aim of keeping Hezbollah guerrillas and rockets away from Israel’s border.

“The bottom line: (the buffer zone in Lebanon) was one of the most worthy security investments ever made by the State of Israel,” he said about an area where Israeli troops were frequently under attack and which they left in 2000.

In recent months, a number of rockets fired during fighting between Syrian forces and rebels have fallen inside the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The strategic plateau is monitored by U.N. observers and had been quiet for decades.

Israel fired into Syria on Sunday, saying it destroyed a machinegun post that had shot at Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights.

Israel fires missile in response to gunfire from Syrian troops

Source  :  Xinhua

JERUSALEM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Israel fired a missile on a Syrian military pos Golan Heights early Sunday amid rising tension in the region, Israeli media reported.

The missile was fired in response to gunfire directed at Israeli troops who we security fence in the area. No injuries or damage were reported on the Israel said.

Two Syrian soldiers were wounded and their position was destroyed in the re said.

The incident came some 12 hours after Syrian troops on Saturday evening op Israeli army vehicle. There were no injuries in that incident, but the vehicle wa

A military spokesman in Tel Aviv would not confirm whether the Syrian gunfir was accidental, a result of battles being waged between government troops a areas adjacent to the border, or deliberately targeted the Israeli forces.

"The Israel Defense Force continues to monitor the situation on the border an necessary steps to respond to developments in the region," the spokesman to

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Sunday that Israel took a severe view of incidents.

"The IDF (Israel Defense Force) responded in accordance with government po maintains that every violation of Israeli sovereignty and firing from the Syrian immediately with the silencing of the sources of fire when they are identified, statement.

Israeli Army Opens Fire at Syrian Military Post

Source  :  RIA Novosti

TEL AVIV, March 24 (RIA Novosti) – The Israeli army opened fire at a Syrian military post in retaliation to a fire attack on its patrols in the Golan Heights, an army spokesman said on Sunday.

The Israeli soldiers were subjected to fire from the Syrian territory on Saturday night.

“Fire was opened at our troops in the southern part of the Golan Heights and we retaliated with fire at a Syrian military post,” the spokesman told RIA Novosti, without specifying whether the Israeli soldiers had been fired at by Syria’s government forces or rebels fighting for control over the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.

The spokesman said the Israeli army suffered no casualties in the fire attack from Syria.

The Israeli forces responded by firing Tamuz anti-tank guided missiles at the Syrian post in the Tel Fares area in the southern Golan Heights where the bullets originated from, according to the YNet news website.

Syria has been locked in an increasingly bloody civil war since demonstrations broke out against President Bashar al- Assad in March 2011. According to UN estimates, at least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Israeli Army Opens Fire at Syrian Military Post

Source  :  RIA Novosti

TEL AVIV, March 24 (RIA Novosti) – The Israeli army opened fire at a Syrian military post in retaliation to a fire attack on its patrols in the Golan Heights, an army spokesman said on Sunday.

The Israeli soldiers were subjected to fire from the Syrian territory on Saturday night.

“Fire was opened at our troops in the southern part of the Golan Heights and we retaliated with fire at a Syrian military post,” the spokesman told RIA Novosti, without specifying whether the Israeli soldiers had been fired at by Syria’s government forces or rebels fighting for control over the Syrian part of the Golan Heights.

The spokesman said the Israeli army suffered no casualties in the fire attack from Syria.

The Israeli forces responded by firing Tamuz anti-tank guided missile at the Syrian post in the Tel Fares area in the southern Golan Heights where the bullets originated from, according to the YNet news website.

Syria has been locked in an increasingly bloody civil war since demonstrations broke out against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. According to UN estimates, at least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

CIA Providing Rebels with Intelligence on Syrian Forces: WSJ

Source  :  http://www.almanar.com

The Central Intelligence Agency is expanding its role in the campaign against the Syrian government by feeding intelligence to select rebel fighters to use against government forces, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The move is part of a U.S. effort to stem the rise of Islamist extremists in Syria by aiding secular forces, amid fears that the fall of President Bashar al-Assad would enable al Qaeda to flourish in Syria, the paper quoted current and former U.S. officials as saying.

The CIA has sent officers to Turkey to help vet rebels who receive arms shipments from Gulf allies, but administration officials cited concerns about some weapons going to Islamists, the paper said.

In Iraq, the CIA has been directed by the White House to work with elite counter- terrorism units to help the Iraqis counter the flow of al-Qaida-linked fighters across the border with Syria, The WSJ added.

According to the report, the West favors fighters aligned with the Free Syrian Army, which supports the Syrian Opposition Coalition political group.

Syrian opposition commanders said the CIA had been working with British, French and Jordanian intelligence services to train rebels in the use of various kinds of weapons, the paper said. The move comes as the al-Nusra Front, the main al- Qaida-linked group operating in Syria, is deepening its ties to the terrorist organization's central leadership in Pakistan, it indicated.

Gunmen seize Israeli, European tourists in Egypt's Sinai

Source  : REUTERS

CAIRO (Reuters) - Masked gunmen in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula kidnapped two tourists, an Israeli man and a European woman, travelling between two coastal resorts, Egyptian and Israeli officials said on Friday.

Tourists seized under similar circumstances earlier this month and last year were released unharmed. Security in the Sinai desert region has deteriorated since the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising two years ago.

The pair was travelling in a car between Taba, near the Israeli border and Dahab, a popular sea resort further south when Bedouin gunmen in a pickup truck captured them, Egyptian security sources said.

Egyptian security agencies are contacting the kidnappers to try to secure the pair's release, the sources said.

It did not appear that the Israeli had been targeted because of his nationality, two Israeli officials in Jerusalem said.

"Our initial assessment is that this was criminally motivated," one of them said.

Bedouin kidnappers have captured tourists in the past to push for the release of fellow tribesmen from jail. Earlier this month kidnappers briefly seized the country boss of U.S. oil major ExxonMobil and his wife.

(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed, additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

Militants fire rockets at Israel on day 2 of Obama visit

Source  :  Trend.Az

Militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least four rockets at southern Israel Thursday morning, the second day of President Barack Obama's visit to the region, Israeli Police said DPA reproted.

One of the missiles landed in the courtyard of a house in the city of Sderot, adjacent to the Strip, causing damage but no injuries. Another landed in an open area, and two fell short and landed inside the Strip.

UN: Syria conflict may heighten tensions with Israel

Source :  Trend.Az

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that clashes between Syrian government forces and rebels near a demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights controlled by UN peacekeepers risks heightening tensions between Syria and Israel, dpa reported.

"The situation is deteriorating and has affected the UNDOF area of operations significantly," Ban said in a report to the UN Security Council, adding that the situation may jeopardize a ceasefire between Syria and Israel, which occupied the Golan Heights in a 1967 war.

The report said the presence of Syrian troops and unauthorized military equipment in the demilitarized area is a violation of the ceasefire agreement in 1974

Syrian Warplanes Strike Lebanese Border Area

Source  :  RIA Novosti

Tags: Victoria Nuland, Lebanon, Syria

MOSCOW, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - Syrian warplanes delivered strikes on border area with Lebanon, allegedly targeting Syrian rebel positions on the Lebanese territory, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.

According to the agency, four missiles hit the Lebanese border town of Arsal, but no destruction or casualties were reported.

The US Department of State confirmed Syrian airstrikes on the border area and condemned them as a violation of the Lebanese sovereignty.

“This constitutes a significant escalation in the violations of Lebanese sovereignty that the Syrian regime has been guilty of. These kinds of violations of sovereignty are absolutely unacceptable,” US Department of State spokesman Victoria Nuland told a daily press briefing.

Last week, the Syrian Foreign Ministry officially warned the Lebanese Foreign Ministry that Damascus would strike militants' bases on Lebanese territory if Beirut failed to beef up security on their common border and prevent infiltration.

“The Syrian armed forces have showed restraint and have not delivered strikes on the bases of militant groups in Lebanon to prevent their intrusion into Syria, but that cannot last forever,” the Syrian ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry also said that several groups of terrorists infiltrated into Syria from Lebanon early last week forcing the Syrian army to fight them back in several villages near the border.

Syria’s state-run news agency Sana claimed earlier this month that the United States military had made raids into Syria from Lebanon and Jordan for reconnaissance purposes and was preparing terrorist operations in support of Syrian rebels. The United States has consistently denied giving any military help to the Syrian opposition.

Russia’s Mediterranean Task Force to Comprise 5-6 Warships – Navy Chief

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, March 17 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Navy will maintain 5-6 warships in the Mediterranean Sea as a task force to defend Russia’s interests in the area, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said on Sunday.

"Up to five-six warships must be present in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis and control must be exercised through the command of the [Russian] Black Sea Fleet,” Chirkov said in an interview with the Zvezda TV network run by the Defense Ministry.

The Russian Navy’s Mediterranean task force will comprise frigates and cruisers, as well as support vessels, he said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday a decision to deploy a permanent naval task force in the Mediterranean had been made.

“I believe that we have the capability to form and maintain such a task force,” Shoigu said, citing the success of recent large-scale naval drills carried out by the Russian navy in the Mediterranean and Black seas.

The exercises involved warships from the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets, strategic bombers and naval infantry.

Shoigu did not mention, however, a timeline for the deployment of the new task force, which would likely require significant effort to ensure efficient logistics and the proper maintenance of warships in the Mediterranean group.

The Soviet Union maintained its 5th Mediterranean Squadron in that sea from 1967 until 1992. It was formed to counter the US Navy 6th Fleet during the Cold War, and consisted of 30-50 warships and auxiliary vessels at different times.

Al Qaeda’s Nusra fights to seize Syrian Golan in time for Obama visit

Source : DEBKAfile

Al Qaeda’s Syrian wing, Jabhat al- Nusra, led a Syrian rebel operation Wednesday, March 13, to occupy Golan and cleanse it of every last Syrian troop loyal to Bashar Assad. The Islamists had two more objectives:

1. To be in position for cross-border attacks on Israel and Jordan – possibly in the course of US President Barack Obama’s March 20-22 visits to those countries. 2. To use the “liberated” Syrian Golan as launching pads for a war of attrition against Israel and Jordan - like Taliban’s campaign against NATO forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their deadline for achieving this objective is March 15.

Jabhat al-Nusra kicked off its Golan operation Wednesday, debkafile’s military sources report, by murdering Gen. Nour e-Din Habib, commander of the Syrian Army’s 90th Brigade, parts of which remain on the Golan. He was struck down from a well-planned ambush against his convoy. Also killed in the attack was Col. Radouan Rifai, the brigade’s senior liaison officer with the Syrian 3rd Extended Division. The purpose of the attack was to disable the brigade by wiping out its top command. Our military sources add that, in the course of the fighting Wednesday, the Nusra front uncovered a secret network of large tunnels running from different points on the Golan up to the Israeli border.

They are big enough for the passage of entire Syrian units with their tanks and heavy trucks, allowing them to pop up without warning against Israeli border units and use their surprise to mow them down and advance into the Israeli sector. debkafile reported earlier Wednesday:

US President Barack Obama’s first engagement upon landing in Israel on March 20 will be a quick tour of the Iron Dome missile interceptor stationed at Ben Gurion international airport. After a round of handshakes, the officers and men operating the system will explain how it works.

The innovative counter-missile weapon is to be deployed there, not just as a spectacle to honor the US president for his contribution to its development, but out of necessity for his safety. Air Force One might be seen as fair game for the ground-to-ground missiles wielded by Al Qaeda units fighting Assad in Syria and its affiliates in the Sinai Peninsula at the very moment that the US President steps down to the strains of the IDF welcoming band. In normal circumstances, personal security arrangements for a US presidential foreign visit are kept under close wraps and rarely visible to the public.

This time, debkafile’s counterterrorism sources report, the visit’s planners made an exception. They decided there was no option but to visibly install an Iron Dome battery inside the airport, because the first battery plus a Patriot interceptor stationed for more than two months north and south of Tel Aviv were not sufficient guarantee of security against rocket attack for President Obama’s arrival.

This decision set up two precedents:

1. Air Force One will land on the Ben Gurion airport runway on March 20 enclosed by two defensive rings of US and Israeli missile interceptors in the densest formation ever to guard an American president's arrival in Israel.

2. The Iron Dome battery will stay in place for the three days of Obama’s visits to Israel and Jordan. It will defend Jerusalem’s air space against rocket attack for the duration of his stay. Still fresh in Israeli memories are Hamas attempts just five months ago to hit the airport and Jerusalem with rockets fired from the Gaza Strip on the orders of the Iranian general Gen. Hassan Shateri aka Hossam Khosh- Nevis. This Iranian officer was killed in January in Syria in unknown circumstances. No one in US and Israeli security circles is seriously suggesting that Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Syrian ruler Bashar Assad or Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah are planning to hit the Israeli airport with rockets on March 20. But neither is any responsible official prepared to expose the president to the slightest risk.

After all, in the more than 120,000 square kilometers of the Damascus- Baghdad-Amman triangle and the 62,000 square kilometers of the Sinai Peninsula, it may be possible to find a jihadist commander willing to act on an order from al Qaeda leader Ayman al- Zuwahiri to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden in on May 2 two years ago in Pakistan at the hands of American commandos.

Both groups of security experts appreciate that Zuwahiri has the motive for punishing the US president for ordering his death and, for the first time, the capacity to reach him from al Qaeda-controlled territory with surface missiles loaded with poison chemicals. Even if their weapon did not touch President Obama, it would be enough for one to explode on an Israeli or Jordanian air field at the time of his arrival for the terrorist organization to chalk up a major strategic feat.

US Drones Fail to Identify Blind Spots of Iran's Radar Systems

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian lawmaker lauded the country's Armed Forces for their vigilance and ability in discovering and repelling enemy aggressions, and said the US intended to pinpoint the blind spots of Iran's radar systems through its numerous drone missions around the country's borders, but failed due to the Iranian Armed Forces' proper response.

Member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani's remarks came after an Iranian commander announced earlier this week that his forces have shooed away a US reconnaissance plane which was trying to enter the country's airspace.

Ardestani pointed to the vigilance of the Iranian air force, and said, "The numerous spy missions of the US planes are aimed at assessing Iran's radar power and capabilities and discover the country's radar blind spots."

"The US government is continuously assessing the Iranian air force's might in this way, but it has failed to achieve its objectives due to Iran's vigilance, military and radar might," Bakhshayesh Ardestani told FNA on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli said that his forces had shooed away a US U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane seeking to approach the Iranian airspace on February 10, when Iranians were celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Speaking to reporters about Iran's air-defense capability, Esmayeeli said his forces pursue and fulfill four missions, which include discovering, indentifying and detecting aggressive aircraft using 3,600 air defense stations and points which are working under an integrated air-defense system.

He pointed to the achievements of his forces in the last Iranian year (ends on March 20), and said that the air-defense units were able to "discover, identify and detect a U-2 aircraft which uses various types of hi-tech for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering missions".

"On Bahman 22 (February 10) and around noon, a U-2 reconnaissance radar-evading aircraft received our warning signal over the general zone in the Sea of Oman before it could approach Iran's borders," Esmayeeli said, adding that the U-2 plane regarded Iran's warning and complied with its orders and moved away from Iran's airspace.

The commander said that the plane might have intended to take images and gather intelligence over Iran's Southern regions.

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, very high-altitude (70,000 feet/21,000 m), all-weather intelligence gathering. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, and communications purposes.

It has participated in conflicts such as Afghanistan and Iraq, and supported several multinational NATO operations. The role of the U-2 is increasingly performed by alternative platforms, such as surveillance satellites, unmanned reconnaissance drones and conventional aircraft.

In similar remarks in October, Esmayeeli had stressed Iran's capability to confront US spy planes and drones, and said his forces have so far warned tens of US spy planes, including the advanced Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, to keep away from Iranian airspace.

"In the last ten years, we have issued countless warnings even to those US AWACS airplanes which were flying over Iraq's airspace or along the free airspace of the Persian Gulf," Esmayeeli told FNA at the time, and noted that the spy planes received immediate warnings when they tried to approach Iran's airspace in violation of the international regulations.

Three Russian warships headed for Syrian port

Source : The Times of Israel

Three Russian warships anchored in Beirut en route to the port of Tartus in Syria, Sky News reported Friday.

According to the report, the ships carry hundreds of Russian soldiers as well as advanced missile systems.

The reports have given no information so far regarding the ships’ intent.

Moscow has operated the naval facility at Tartus since signing an agreement with Damascus in 1971. Although it is merely a ship repair and refueling station with a limited military presence, it is the sole remaining Russian military base outside of the former Soviet Union.

January, a flotilla of five Russian warships laden with hundreds of troops, headed toward Syria, as a show of force meant to deter Western armies from intervening in the war-torn nation, the London-based Sunday Times reported.

Previous reports cited Russian diplomats to the effect that the vessels were being put in place in order to evacuate thousands of Russians who still remained in Syria, if the situation in the country called for it.

However, a Russian intelligence source was quoted in the London Times as saying that the presence of over 300 marines on the ships was meant as a deterrent to keep countries hostile to the Bashar Assad regime — a key ally of the Kremlin — from landing special forces in the country.

Lebanese armed forces given directions to deal with Syria's border violations: PM

Source :  Xinhua

BEIRUT, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati said Saturday that "directions have been given to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to deal with the Syrian violations appropriately," reiterating his calls for all parties to commit to disassociating from the Syrian crisis.

Miqati said following a meeting with LAF Commander General Jean Qahwaji that "all parties in the country should commit to the dissociation policy and spare Lebanon any repercussions to the ongoing Syrian crisis."

"The Lebanese government must give the situation on the Lebanese-Syrian border extreme attention," he stressed.

The prime minister meanwhile said Lebanon had received a letter from the Syrian Foreign Ministry which stated that the Syrian authorities "are keen on maintaining good relations between the two countries and dealing with the violations in order to preserve their common interests."

Lebanon's border regions with Syria have experienced repeated violations, including shellings, gunfire and limited incursions from the Syrian side.

Jordan says 14 Palestinian pilgrims and driver killed in highway accident

Source :  Fox News

AMMAN, JORDAN – Jordan says a bus carrying Palestinian pilgrims has overturned and crashed into a trailer on a highway near the Israeli border, killing 15 people.

A Civil Defense statement says 14 pilgrims and the driver were killed in the Saturday accident, while 32 Palestinians were injured.

The statement says the pilgrims were passing through Jordan on their way back to the West Bank from Muslim holy shrines in the cities of Mecca and Medina in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

It says the bus driver lost control over the brakes, skidded and collided into a trailer, then overturned about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge.

The bridge across the Jordan River is used for passengers and cargo traded with the West Bank

Iranian Fighter chased US drone: Pentagon

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

The US Department of Defense announced that Iran has identified and chased the US drone over the skies of Persian Gulf. According to MNA, CNN has claimed in a news report that Iranian fighter jet was chasing a US drone in the Persian Gulf, without mentioning presence of the US fighter jet.

But George Little, the Defense Ministry spokesman has said that two US fighter jet were escorting the UAV as well.

According to Little, the incident happened on Tuesday, last week. He said the Iranian Fighter was an F-4 fighter jet and confirmed CNN reports that the drone was a Predator UAV.

Three US officials have confirmed the details of the incident and also confirmed Predator as the armed US fighter UAV type.

According to the reports, Iran scrambled an F-4 fighter jet after identifying the UAV over the Persian Gulf. The Iranian aircraft approaching the US drone and continued chasing it until the US UAV quickly leave the area, CNN reported

US weighs drone strikes in Syria: report

Source : Al Akhbar English

US Central Intelligence Agency is collecting information on Islamic radicals in Syria for possible lethal drone strikes against them at a later stage, The Los Angeles Times reported late Friday.

Citing unnamed current and former US officials, the newspaper said President Barack Obama had not authorized any drone missile strikes in Syria yet, and none were under consideration.

But the CIA's so-called Counterterrorism Center, which runs drone programs that hit targets in Pakistan and Yemen, had recently shifted several targeting officers to gather intelligence gathering on anti- government rebels in Syria.

The targeting officers have formed a unit with colleagues who were tracking al-Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq.

Veteran militants from Iraq are believed to have moved to Syria and joined rebels fighting to overthrow the government there, the report said.

The targeting officers focusing on Syria are based at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the paper said.

The agency is working closely with Saudi, Jordanian and other regional spy services active in Syria, according to the paper.

The preparations come as radical Islamic fighters have won a growing share of rebel victories in Syria, the LA Times added.

The US State Department in December designated one of the strongest Syrian rebel groups, al-Nusra Front, as a terrorist organization, indistinguishable from al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Syria warns Lebanon on infiltrators as West mulls arming rebels

Source :   Xinhua

DMASCUS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Syria said Thursday its army had so far restrained itself from striking rebel positions in Lebanon but warned this could change if its neighbor failed to act.

The foreign ministry said in a statement that, since Tuesday, gunmen in large numbers had infiltrated Syria through Lebanon, adding those infiltrators were receiving logistical support from inside Lebanon.

The ministry urged the Lebanese authorities to control its borders, warning Syria's restraint "won't be forever."

"Syria expects that the Lebanese side will prevent those (rebels) from using the borders as routes" to jeopardize the security of the Syrian people, the ministry said.

Fighting between Syrian troops and infiltrators was ongoing, the ministry said, adding many assailants had either been killed or fled back to Lebanon.

Damascus has long complained about the flow of arms and cash from surrounding countries into Syria.

On March 6, Damascus slammed the Arab League (AL), which invited the Syrian opposition to occupy Syria's AL seat and gave the green light to its member states to provide arms to the opposition, as "violating the principles of international law."

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Thursday Paris and London would arm the Syrian opposition even if no unanimous agreement was reached in the European Union (EU).

In an interview with local radio France Info, Fabius said the two countries would urge their European partners to speed up lifting the Syrian arms embargo.

The arms embargo is part of a package of EU sanctions on Syria. The EU was scheduled to review the embargo late May.

In response, Syria's state media condemned the European, Turkish and Gulf states for "overtly speaking about sending money and arms to the terrorist groups that carry out kidnapping and killing as well as targeting the infrastructure of Syria."

The armament issue has also raised fears and skepticism among human rights groups and other international powers, such as Russia, which warned "terrorists" would become the final recipients of arms shipments intended for the Syrian opposition.

Amnesty International on Thursday cautioned against arming the rebels, saying they were involved in using child soldiers, sectarian violence and committing war crimes, which included hostage taking, torturing and killing of captured pro-government forces and civilians.

"The dead bodies found every day in towns and villages across Syria bearing marks of execution- style killing and torture are the grim evidence of mounting war crimes and other abuses being committed not just by government forces, but also by armed opposition groups," it said.

The Amnesty report came on the second anniversary of the start of the conflict, which, according to UN estimates, has left 70,000 dead and more than one million displaced.

Croatia orders pullout of its peacekeepers from Syria-Israel border

Source : Fox News

Croatia's parliament has approved the withdrawal of some 100 peacekeeping troops from the Golan Heights amid fears they could be targeted by Syrian government troops fighting the rebels.

Croatian Defense Minister Ante Kotromanovic said Wednesday the pullout will start "very soon" but refused to specify the date for security reasons.

The withdrawal, which had been proposed by the country's president, follows reports claiming that Syrian rebels trying to topple Bashar Assad have been armed with Croatian weapons — including machine guns, rifles and anti-tank grenades — in an operation approved by the United States and sponsored by some Arab countries.

Croatian officials have denied the reports and said they have jeopardized the safety of Croatian soldiers serving in the U.N. Disengagement Force on the Syria-Israel border.

Israel tests “the third arrow” missile to confront Iran

Source : http://breakingnews.sy

Israel has made during the last weeks the training of “the third arrow” Israeli-made missile, which is controlled by the satellite, to prove that USA is able to seize the Iranian nuclear program and to send a message to Tehran that “Israel” is able to confront its missile with nuclear heads if it fires them on Israel.

Israeli PM has praised the successful experience, as Israeli officials call for heading a military hit to Iranian nuclear Installations from a side and to reassure the Israeli citizen, where Iran has become his major concern in their daily life form another side.

Israel, who see that Iran’s negotiation with the great nations as an attempt to gain time, does not believe in the economic punishments as a solution to deter Iran from being advanced in its nuclear program and it insist in putting a military solution in the international agendas, the matter that would be discoursed during the visits of US president Barak Obama to Israel.

Zionist Enemy Boosts Forces near Golan, South Lebanon Regions

Source : Al-Manar

The Zionist enemy on Wednesday boosted its forces near the occupied Golan Heights and the eastern sector of South Lebanon, Al-Manar correspondent reported, indicating that the reinforcement included dozens of tanks and troop carriers.

In parallel, three Israeli bulldozers returned to Wazzani region and proceeded in building a road outside the technical fence, under the protection of a Merkava tank.

Another three Israeli merkava tanks and military hummers also deployed near Shebaa farms during the afternoon, according to Al-Manar correspondent.

Russia sends a detachment of ships to the coast of Gaza

Source : Voice of Russia

Russia sent a detachment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet to the coast of the Gaza Strip in order to evacuate Russians in case of escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a source in the main command of the RF Navy said.

"The detachment of combat ships of the Black Sea Fleet, including the Guards missile cruiser Moskva, the patrol ship Smetliviy, large landing ships Novocherkassk and Saratov, the sea tug MB-304 and the big sea tanker Ivan Bubnov, got the order to remain in the designated area of the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea for a possible evacuation of Russian citizens from the area of the Gaza strip in case of escalation of the Palestinian- Israeli conflict", - the Agency’s interlocutor said.

According to him, in the course of military service the crews of the ships will continue their routine combat training, maintenance of equipment and weapons.

Voice of Russia, RIA

Syrian Iftaa Council Calls on Syrians to Join Army, Defend Nation

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Supreme Iftaa Council called on the Syrian people to "perform the duty of joining the Syrian Army to defend the nation which was blessed by Heaven and called upon by the prophet."

The Council appealed to the Syrian people to stand in one rank with the army and armed forces, stating, "Performing the legitimate duty of defending unified Syria and the Syrian people is an obligation on all the sons of our nation, as well as on all the Arab and Islamic states," Almanar reported.

In a statement it issued on Sunday, the Syrian Iftaa Council warned of standing against the army and armed forces, as "this is treason and a participation in weakening its (the army) power in Armageddon against Zionists and their supporters."

The statement further indicated that "military service is a faithful and national responsibility, so preserve with it the blood of innocents and the sacredness of land and honor."

"Let your stand with our Syrian people be a stand of protection and care for our humanitarian, economic, cultural, and historical wealth," it concluded.

Israeli aircraft violate Lebanon airspace

Source : PressTV

Two Israeli warplanes crossed into Lebanon’s airspace over the southern village of Rmeish at 10:15 a.m. local time (0715 GMT) on Sunday, according to a statement issued by the Lebanese military.

The warplanes flew over several areas in Lebanon before leaving the airspace at 12:35 p.m. local time (0935 GMT) while flying over the southern border town of Alma al- Shaab.

On Saturday, an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle entered Lebanese airspace over Rmeish at 5:40 p.m. local time (1440 GMT).

The remote-controlled aircraft carried out surveillance flights over several areas in southern Lebanon, including the towns of Zahle and Baalbek, before it left the Lebanese airspace at 6:15 a.m. local time (0315 GMT) on Sunday while flying over the southern border village of Kfar Kila, located about 96 kilometers (59 miles) south of Beirut.

In addition, an Israeli drone crossed into Lebanon’s airspace over Alma al-Shaab at 10:45 p.m. local time (1945 GMT) on Sunday, and conducted surveillance flights over the southern towns of Riyaq and Baalbek.

It left Lebanon’s airspace at 3:50 a.m. local time (0050 GMT) on Sunday while flying over Rmeish.

Israel violates Lebanon’s airspace on an almost daily basis, claiming the flights serve surveillance purposes.

Lebanon’s government, the Hezbollah resistance movement, and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, have repeatedly condemned the overflights, saying they are in clear violation of UN Resolution 1701 and Lebanon’s sovereignty.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 brokered a ceasefire in the war of aggression Israel launched on Lebanon in 2006

Israel's Iron Dome grossly over-hyped: scientists

Source :   Al Akhbar English

Israel's much touted Iron Dome missile defense system has been grossly over-hyped, a team of renowned scientists have found.

The Iron Dome's success rate of 84 percent, as reported by the Israeli military, may be as low as 5 percent, according to international expert in military defense Theodore Postol. He previously argued that the joint American-Israeli Patriot missile defense system was ineffective against Iraqi Scud missiles in the second Gulf War.

Postol and two other scientists, who have worked for billion dollar defense companies Raytheon and Rafael, reviewed video footage of the Iron Dome's performance and concluded that images said to show rocket interception was actually the Dome's missiles self-destructing.

During Israel's vicious assault on Gaza last November, 3,200 civilian damage reports were filed due to retaliatory rocket fired from the coastal strip, although the Israeli military reported that only 58 missiles failed to be intercepted by the Dome. Scientists said this was 'impossible'.

The United States is currently providing funding for an additional eight Iron Dome units. $205 million has been authorized by Congress for the project.

(Al-Akhbar)

Israeli troops pulled to Syria border as rebels advance on Golan Heights

Source : Voice of Russia

Israel has been pulling its troops to the northern border with Syria following advances by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights region. The military are said to be on standby, while the command is watching the situation develop.

The rebels reportedly began filing into the demilitarized zone between Syria and Israel on Saturday and threatened to capture the Golan Heights. Most of Syrian President Assad's armed forces have left the area, Ynet reported.

According to Ynet, the Israeli troops deployed to the disputed region will serve as a back-up for Israel’s elite forces and operational artillery units patrolling the Golan Heights.

Israeli military are said to be shielding workers and engineers who are finishing constructing defensive barriers on the border. The fence is equipped with special sensors that will signal about any attempt to breach it.

Rebels reportedly shot firearms near the Syrian-Israeli border in the zone, which has been demilitarized ever since the Israeli-Arab truce of 1973. The armistice can be over now.

"We are now in front of the occupied Golan, the blessed land sold by Hafez Assad," Ynet has cited a rebel in a video clip posted online Saturday night.

"For 40 years, not a single gunshot has been fired on this land. For 40 years, not a single gunshot has been fired towards Israel," the rebel went on to day. "We will free the Golan and it will return to the free Syrian people, with the help of Allah."

Earlier reports said the southern Syrian reaches had effectively been abandoned by the government’s troops that were redeployed to fight militants in the country’s central and northern regions. This situation has raised concerns among Jordanian and Israeli officials.

Voice of Russia, jta.org, TASS

DM Stresses Iran's Support for Syrian Nation

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi renewed Iran's support for the will of the Syrian people and government, and opposed foreign meddling in the Muslim states, specially Syria, to the interest of Israel.

Vahidi made the remarks in a meeting with the Iraqi Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi here in Tehran on Wednesday.

"The enemies try to weaken or annihilate resistance front in a bid to help the Zionist regime dominate the entire region and for this reason they have targeted Syria," he said.

He noted only Israel and its allies benefit from the current Syrian crisis, and called on regional countries, specially Syria's neighboring countries, to help foil the foreign plots hatched against the Muslim state.

The Iranian defense minister underlined that the regional crises can be resolved through collective cooperation of the countries of the region.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police, border guards, statesmen, army and the civilians being reported across the country.

Thousands of people have been killed since terrorist and armed groups turned protest rallies into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

Arms exported to Syria only affects neighboring countries: Lebanese FM

Source : Xinhua

BEIRUT, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said Thursday allowing exporting arms to Syria will only affect the neighboring countries, noting that he is keen to preserve Lebanon's best interest.

On Wednesday, Mansour demanded during the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in the Cairo cancelling the decision of suspending Syria's membership in the Arab League and to recontact the Syrian government to reach a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.

Mansour's remarks were rejected by several Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Najib Miqati who stressed that Lebanon is committed to the dissociation policy.

Iraqi Army Begins Military Buildup Near Border with Syria

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraq stationed several divisions of its troops along the borders with Syria after the so- called Free Syrian Army (FSA) terrorist group attacked the army's watchtowers in border areas. and killed six Iraqi soldiers.

Six Iraqi soldiers were killed in clashes with FSA armed rebels after the terrorists began firing at army's watchtowers in Rabia and al-Ba'aj regions along the Iraq-Syria border.

The bodies of the six Iraqi soldiers killed by FSA forces have been delivered to Sanjar Hospital in Iraq's Neynava province , al-Sumeriya News website quoted an informed source as saying.

Syria's neighbors are concerned about the possible spread of crisis from the Muslim country.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria

Israel intensifies its patrols in the Golan Heights; takes al-Qaida presence as a pretext

Source : LBCI News

The Israeli Military and Political institutions raised the raised file to the top of their agenda following the continuous shelling at the occupied Golan Heights.

The Israeli army intensified the patrols on the Israeli-Syrian borders and claimed that Al- Qaida affiliated groups are approaching the borders and observing the patrols.

This report will shed light on the plans that Israel is expected to implement in order to face the increasing Syrian threats.

Israel says closely monitoring Syria battlefronts

Source : The Daily Star

JERUSALEM: Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Sunday that Israel is closely monitoring the battlefronts in Syria after press reports that rebels had seized Scud missiles from regime forces.

But Yaalon downplayed any threat to Israel from the Scuds -- long-range surface-to-surface missiles which Iraq's executed dictator Saddam Hussein used against the Jewish state in the 1991 Gulf War.

"I don't think that they have the capacity to fire missiles at our territory," Yaalon told military radio, in reaction to reports Syrian rebels had seized Scuds in northeast Syria.

Rebels have made significant advances in northern Syria where they control large swathes of territory, having captured army bases and airports.

Speaking a day after Syrian shells hit the Israeli- occupied Golan Heights, Yaalon reiterated that his country does not wish to be involved in Syria's civil war.

"We are monitoring the situation closely. As long as it does not threaten us, we will not intervene. At this stage we don't see any threat," he said.

On Saturday, mortar rounds believed to be have been fired from Syria hit the southern part of the Golan, falling in an open area without causing injuries or damage, the army reported.

Yaalon said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be "held responsible for everything that happens along the border."

There have been several instances of gunfire or mortar shells hitting the Israeli side of the Golan over the past year.

Israel seized the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981, in a move never recognised by the international community. It is currently upgrading a security fence along the armistice line.

Iraq: we are curing the soldiers of Syrian Arab Army.

Source : http://breakingnews.sy/en

The Spokesman of Iraqi Defense Ministry, Lt. Gen. Muhammad al-Askari, declares that “4 soldiers of Syrian Arab Army have been carried to a hospital in the Northwest of Iraq, after being injured during clashes with armed men near the borders”.

Al-Askari says that “these clashes have reached the Iraqi Lands”, adding that 4 wounded soldiers of Syrian Army have been carried to Rabiea hospital Ninawa Provence”.

Al-Askar mentions that “our forces are protecting the borders of the terrorists and the smugglers, and there is no existence to our planes in the disputed area”.

Scud missile fired in Syria lands near Iraqi village - "mayor"

Source : AlertNet

MOSUL, Iraq, March 1 (Reuters) - A Scud missile fired from Syrian territory landed near a village in Iraq's Nineveh province on Friday, causing no damage but terrifying its inhabitants who fled, a "mayor" said, identifying the rocket as Russian-made.

The conflict in neigbouring Syria has previously spilled over the border into Iraq. In September, a five-year-old girl was killed when three rockets struck a border town in the al Qaim area.

"A Russian-made Scud landed near the village of Yoush Tapa, 3 km from the Iraqi-Syrian border between Telafar and Baaj," said Abdul Aal Abbas, the mayor of Telafar.

"There were no casualities or damage, but it created fear among the Turkuman population of that village and they fled their houses".

Nineveh governorate spokesman Qahtan Sami said security forces had also said the rocket was of Russian provenance.

Iraq's precarious sectarian and ethnic balance has already come under strain from the conflict nextdoor, where mainly Sunni Muslim insurgents are fighting to overthrow a ruler backed by Shi'ite Iran, an ally of the Baghdad government.

Sunni opposition to the Shi'ite-led government has been swelling and increasing violence in recent months is stoking concerns the country may slip into intercommunal strife. (Reporting by Amir Goran; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Syria shells land in Golan Heights, Israeli army says

Source : Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Mortar shells fired from Syria landed in the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel's army said.

"Several shells landed in the southern Golan Heights, most likely due to the fighting inside Syria," an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

"No injuries or damages were caused and the incident has been reported to UN forces."

Stray gunfire between the forces of President Bashar Assad and insurgents has strayed across the Golan border several times over the last year.

Israeli soldiers shot across the ceasefire line in February, wounding a ma who approached the boundary fence.

In November, Israeli troops fired artillery shells into Syria in response to number of incidents in which mortar shells and bullets hit Israeli militar and civil installations on the Golan Heights.

The UN has a peacekeeping force in the area monitoring a ceasefire in plac since the 1970s. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 196 war and later annexed it in a move never recognized internationally.

Technically, Syria and Israel are still at war, but the Golan, a strateg plateau, has been largely quiet for decades.

Iraqi army helped Syrian government retake border checkpoint - reports

Source :  RT News

The Iraqi army has reportedly shelled Free Syrian Army positions inside Syria near the border with Iraq. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Iraq was helping Syrian government forces regain control of a border checkpoint seized by the insurgency.

Syrian troops have recaptured the Al- Ya'robiya checkpoint on the border with Iraq on Friday night. According to witness reports on Twitter, Iraq's armed forces moved in to help with the operation and shelled the border post, which was held by the rebels.

An Al-Arabiya correspondent also confirmed that targets inside Syria had been shelled while Iraqi snipers took positions near the crossing. Massive reinforcements have also been deployed in Baghdad near the Syrian border, the correspondent said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that a border checkpoint on Syria’s northeast border with Iraq had been overrun by rebel fighters from the Al-Nusra Front on Thursday but were recaptured by government troops after less than 24 hours.

Earlier on Friday, the conflict once again spilled into neighboring Iraq after a Scud missile fired from Syria landed near a village in Iraq's Nineveh province, causing no significant damage. Last time rockets fired from Syrian territory hit Iraq, in September 2012, they killed a 5-year-old girl.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned on Wednesday that a Syrian rebel victory could spark sectarian violence in his own country and the whole region.

“Neither the opposition nor the regime can finish each other off,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press. “If the opposition is victorious, there will be a civil war in Lebanon, divisions in Jordan and a sectarian war in Iraq.”

Hizbullah Stronger than Any Time Ever

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

The Deputy Chairman of Hizbullah Executive Council His Eminence, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, stressed that “the global war on Syria won’t succeed in weakening the resistance axis but rather it led to escalating its invincibility and power.”

During the commemoration of Martyr Leaders in Iranian city, Qom, Sheikh Qaouk highlighted that “the “Israeli” enemy thinks that by targeting Syria, it will be able to weaken the axis of the resistance.”

However, His Eminence assured that “two years on the crisis, nothing changed and Hizbullah was able to overcome the Syrian crisis and to acquire all needed components to defend Lebanon.”

“Hizbullah is stronger than any time ever since 1982,” he asserted.

The Hizbullah top official further warned the occupation of any adventure, affirming, that ” the resistance missiles will reach their homes, camps, and all regions.” On the Zionist position from the Syrian crisis, Sheikh Qaouk viewed that “”Israel” is receiving rebel and regime opponent fighters and this explains whom does “Israel” support.” “Hizbullah could never stand in the trench, in which both the US and “Israel” stand,” he reiterated.

Israel : Hizbullah got Scud D missiles from Syria with 700 km range

Source : Naval Open Source

Israel has determined that the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah acquired the extended-range Scud D ballistic missile from Syria.

A senior Israeli official asserted that Hizbullah obtained an unspecified number of Scud Ds from Syrian military arsenals.

Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry’s Political-Military Directorate, said the Scud D contained a warhead of 150 kilograms and could fly 700 kilometers