Aviv Kochavi hails IAF for its “sophistication” in striking one arms truck out of a convoy of 25 last month.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel was behind an airstrike on a convoy suspected of carrying Iranian arms on the Syrian-Iraqi border about a month ago that reportedly killed 14 Iranian militiamen, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi revealed Wednesday morning.
The strike occurred near the border town of Abu Kamal, a transshipment hub used by militias militant groups linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Strikes in the area are often attributed to Israel and the U.S. but after Washington released a statement last month denying involvement, Jerusalem was blamed for the attack.
According to Kochavi, Israel “could have not known what was in” the convoy, which comprised some 25 trucks.
The IDF gathered intelligence by sending in “pilots to the right place who had to evade surface-to-air missiles fired at them,” the military chief said, adding that it discovered that “truck number 8 was the truck with the arms.”
“They needed to attack, they needed to hit their targets and come back safely and not kill people who shouldn’t be killed. These are very sophisticated capabilities,” said Kochavi, who was speaking at a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya.
Israel periodically attacks weapons convoys in Syria that are headed for Lebanon where Iran’s proxy terror group Hezbollah has more than 100,000 missiles aimed across the southern border at Israel.
However most of its airstrikes, which are coordinated with Russia, are largely concentrated in the area surrounding Damascus or the center of the country.
Kochavi’s admission on Wednesday was rare, since Israel maintains a policy of near-silence regarding strikes in Syria.