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Syria test-fired Scud missiles last week, Israel says

Syria test fired three Scud missiles a week ago, one of which broke up over two Turkish villages causing no injuries, in an act of defiance to the US and the UN, the New York Times said yesterday quoting Israeli military officials.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, said there was nothing unusual about the missile tests -- Syria's first since 2001 -- other than the embarrassment it caused to Turkey, but that they decided to make them public because they were puzzled by US silence about them.

n korean technology

In Tel Aviv, the Israeli officials told the daily that the missle tests -- one older Scud B, with a range of 300km and two Scud D's with a range of 700km -- were part of a Syrian missile development project using North Korean technology.

The missiles, they said, are designed to deliver air-burst chemical weapons.

The launchings on May 27, the official said, were Syrian President, Bashir al-Assad's response to US and UN pressures that forced him to withdraw Syrian troops from neighboring Lebanon, in the wake of the February assassination there of former prime minister Rafik Harari.

sending a message

"This is really putting your fingers in the eyes of the Americans, saying, `I'm not dancing to your flute,'" a senior Israeli military official said.

"The tests are probably needed for the missile project, but this is Bashir taking a risk here and sending a message," he said.

Prominent anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir was killed on Thursday when a bomb exploded under his car in Beirut, in an attack blamed on the pro-Syrian regime and widely condemned at home and abroad. Syria angrily denied the accusations through its official news agency, Sana.

The Israeli officials said the Syrian missiles were launched from northern Syria near Minakh. One was sent about 400km to southernmost Syria, near the Jordanian border.

`technical mishap'

The missile that broke up was fired southwest toward the Mediterranean, over the Turkish province of Hatay, and shed debris over two villages there. The Israelis said they had film of the launching and breakup.

The Turkish ambassador to Washington, Osman Faruk Logoglu, told the New York Times there were no casualties in the missile breakup.

He added that Syria had apologized for the technical mishap.
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