US GOVERNMENT officials confirmed that Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft carried out an air strike on the night of October 30/31 on the Syrian port city of Latakia. The target was a shipment of Russian S-125 (SA-3 Goa) surface-to-air missiles. Unconfirmed reports suggest that up to four aircraft undertook the raid. The weapons were reported to be en route to the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. Syrian rebels reported loud explosions, apparently from inside an air defence facility in the Snubar Jableh area of Latakia. Israeli aircraft have carried out several air strikes on Syria this year. In the first attack, on January 30, it is believed the target was a shipment of SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles in trucks next to the Jamraya Scientific Research Center in Damascus. Later, on the night of May 2/3, IAF fighters struck a shipment of weapons apparently destined for Hezbollah and reported to have been conventional surface-to-surface guided tactical ballistic missiles, possibly Iranian Fateh-110s, which were stored at Damascus Airport. Some reports suggest that IAF aircraft may have used stand-off weapons for the attack, remaining outside Syrian airspace and firing whilst still over Lebanon.
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