On Oct. 6, the Israeli Air Force shot down a foreign drone near the Yatir Forest in the northern Negev. While the Israeli media quickly pointed the finger at Iran and Hezbollah, Israeli defense officials refrained from disclosing the drone’s origin.
Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged that Hezbollah was responsible for the drone. A couple of hours later, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, said that Hezbollah was in fact behind the drone, which he named “Ayoub.” According to Nasrallah, the drone was manufactured by Iran and assembled in Lebanon.
During his televised speech, Nasrallah declared that “[i]t is our natural right to send other reconnaissance flights inside occupied Palestine…. This is not the first time and will not be the last. We can reach any place we want.” In addition, he claimed that Hezbollah is revealing only parts of its capabilities, while concealing others.
According to a recent Channel 10 report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) believes that Hezbollah is in possession of dozens of drones, some of which are able to carry explosives. However, the drones are said to be obsolete models that are no longer in use by most nations. Earlier this year, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that “Hezbollah has been allocating increased resources towards bolstering its drone unit.”
During the 2006 war with Hezbollah, the Israeli Air Force shot down a number of Hezbollah drones, and in 2004 an Iranian-made drone spent approximately five minutes in Israeli territory. In April 2005, a Hezbollah drone (Mirsad-1) was sent over Israel. According to a secret cable released by Wikileaks, Syrian intelligence officers may have helped Hezbollah with this launch.
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Hezbollah apparently also fired missiles a few times from it’s drones during the 2006 war.
Hezbollah is in it’s political death throes, it’s support for Assad has made it lose major credibility in that region.
Once the Syrian rebels win the war and overthrow Assad, they have repeatedly stated that they will then go after Hezbollah in it’s strongholds. That will be a fight to the bloody death.
In terms of the Sunni Jihadis and al Qaeda turning their sights on Hezbollah after a victory in Syria, Sundoesntrise’s comment above is of course true, because there is a MASSIVE civil war between the Shia and the Sunni in Islam.
The Saudi, Sunni, al Qaeda wing believes women should be imprisoned for the felony of driving, that women cannot go to the emergency room without a male escort, cannot be University professors or medical doctors and much more.
Public beheadings are of course the norm in Sunni Saudi Arabia.
By contrast, the “bad guys”, the Shia of Hezbollah and Iranian and Bahranian notoriety, believe women should be allowed to drive without fear of arrest, should be medical doctors, surgeons and university professors and members of parliament.
In this Islamic civil war, how wise is it to put ALL of our support on the al Qaeda Sunni faction?
isnt it suspecious that Iran’s filth going to gangs is glorified in news and if other nations do same no matter how rightfully they get embargoes!?!
Since only the USN is known to have a full-scale Heli-drone in full operational service, and since neither Nassrallah nor Iran have presented any on a public demonstration, like they usually do – even with early concept prototypes, then his recent statement shouldn’t be taken literally. Detailed analysis of this affair can be found here : http://essential-intelligence-network.blogspot.com/2012/10/remotely-rotating-middle-east.html
As sundoesntrise stated if the rebels go after Hezbulla this will be AQ against Hezbulla in reality. Not sure that would ever happen. However if it did it would certainly be a bloody affair. Iran is hoping it stays in Syria.
sundoesntrise said: “Hezbollah is in it’s political death throes, it’s support for Assad has made it lose major credibility in that region. Once the Syrian rebels win the war and overthrow Assad, they have repeatedly stated that they will then go after Hezbollah in it’s strongholds.”
That’s a very interesting analysis. I’ve never heard that before. I will watch with great interest to see if this happens. I’ve always thought Hezbollah had broad support from the general populace in Lebanon. Keep us posted.
@sundoesntrise
“That will be a fight to the death.” While a most attractive prediction its not going to happen.
There are quite a few tank commanders in the Israeli Defense Forces who would assert that it is not smart to underestimate the military capability of Hezbollah.
Mike Merlo,
Well, if you have some type of omnipresent knowledge of what the FSA will do in the future, then I applaud you for your amazing powers.
@sundoesntrise
thank you for acknowledging my omnipresence or more pointedly my lack thereof. As much as I appreciate what I categorize as “bellum omnium in omnes” (A war of all against all) that has & continues to envelope the ‘world’ of Islam I don’t see it ‘arranging’ itself as you characterize a possible Hezbollah FSA confrontation. Although I would certainly very much appreciate being proven wrong.
You cannot predict future world events with a certainty. Only a ‘maybe’. None of us can. My original post was going off of statements by the FSA leadership themselves of what they would do. No offense, but you’re not really in any position at all to say “it would never happen”.
Obviously I should point out that I am sceptical it ever will myself. But I am willing to keep an open mind to it, the FSA and ordinary Syrians are tired of Hezbollah killing them just so Assad can survive.
Who knows, Mike; maybe right now, FSA is getting ready to stage an attack at this very moment. Not saying they are for sure, but you never know with these kind of things.