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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat

Israel Uses 'Secret' Anti-Tank Guided Missile to Attack Damascus

Smoke rises after an Israeli missile attack in Damascus countryside (AP)

Israel released footage for the first time of its "secret fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile" after Syria claimed the weapon was used in an alleged Israeli attack in the country.

A recent report by Ynet newspaper claimed that the surface-to-surface "Tamuz" missile was developed by Israel's military industries in 1973 and had never been revealed publicly.

The project of Tamuz missiles remained top secret, and a senior military source told the newspaper that some of its types were used in wars against Hezbollah and Hamas.

Ynet said that 30 years after the weapon became operational, never-before-seen footage shows experiments conducted with the highly accurate surface-to-surface projectiles believed to be used in the recent attack on an Iranian weapons convoy in Syria.

Tamuz missiles were given to the Air Force to be installed on Apaches as an accurate long-range weapon. It was successfully used against Hamas and Hezbollah targets.

Though Tamuz missiles are kept as a last resort solution due to their very high cost, according to Syrian reports on Saturday, Israel attacked a convoy carrying advanced weapons systems.

The missile has an accurate 50 km long-range and was sold in various versions to 38 countries worldwide, including NATO forces.

Last Saturday, sources in Syria accused Israel of bombing Damascus countryside during the day, injuring two Syrian soldiers.

State-owned SANA news agency reported that Syria's air defenses responded Saturday to Israeli missiles fired toward Damascus suburbs, injuring two soldiers.

"The Israeli enemy fired a salvo of surface-to-surface missiles from northern occupied Palestine targeting positions near Damascus," SANA said, quoting an unnamed military official.

"Our anti-aircraft defenses were activated and were able to hit some of the enemy missiles," the source said, adding that the attack wounded two soldiers and caused other damages.

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