The latest string of attacks in Syria, including in Damascus, Al Bukamal and Aleppo makes the aim clear beyond any doubt: damage to the supply lines of the "axis of resistance" led by Iran.
For years these supply lines were led by Islamic Revolutionary Guards commander Razi Mousavi, who was killed last Monday. He led an orderly operation in which advanced weapons and their parts would arrive by air and by sea through the port at Latakia port, through unit 2250, which he led. According to "Iran International", Mousavi was in charge of the aid unit for Lebanon mobilization, a euphemistic name for the body responsible for the transfers of weapons to Hezbollah. Another essential tool for this smuggling was the land route, with weapons bought by truck to the Al Qa'im border crossing in Iraq, then over to Al Bukamai in east Syria, on the Euphrates River.
In Al Bukamal, Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani built, before being eliminated, an advanced infrastructure centered on the Imam Ali strategic base, where major forces are stationed and many weapons stored - some underground. The same base, according to foreign publications, has been attacked many times by the Israeli and US air forces, as was the case on Friday.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), in Friday's air raid on Al Bukamal, 25 pro-Iranian militia fighters were killed including five Syrians and six Iraqis were killed and 18 others were injured. Initially the Arab media attributed the attack to the Americans but a senior US figure told "Reuters" that the US was not responsible for the raid. It is possible to estimate who else might have undertaken the attack. According to reports, a military headquarters was targeted as well as a convoy and a weapons warehouse.
Six explosions near a military airport
Subsequently, the SOHR reports, six explosions were heard near the Al-Nayrab military airport in the Aleppo region. In the region of the Al Dahabiya and Al Sheikh villages are arms stores and outposts of pro-Iranian militias and it is reasonable to assume they are filled by the weapons brought from Al Bukamal.
These supply lines form the base of Hezbollah's strength in Lebanon. Hezbollah has an advantage over the other pro-Iranian militias not only in its solid infrastructure in Lebanon, but also in its ability to attract more fighters with a monthly salary of about $1,300 a month, compared with $100-200 dollars for the soldiers of the Afghan Fatmiun and Pakistani Zainbayun militias active in Syria. However, Hezbollah does not have the ability to manufacture its advanced weapons from scratch, certainly not most of them. Therefore, it is required to receive large amounts via Syria which is frequently targeted by air raids.
These attacks will not wipe out the pro-Iranian militias in Syria, and are not like the goal of crushing Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but hitting the Iranian supply lines in Syria will accomplish two goals: first and foremost, a message to Iran and its leaders that it is not immune from attack. At the same time, such damage over time will not only weaken the variety of means that the militias have at their disposal in Syria, it will also eat into Hezbollah's stockpiles of ammunition, which are far greater than those of Hamas.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 31, 2023.
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