Syrian government forces of Bashar al-Assad use Scud missiles against opposition fighters 1312121

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Defence News - Syria
 
 
Thursday, December 13, 2012, 06:38 AM
 
Syrian government forces of Bashar al-Assad use Scud missiles against opposition fighters.
A number of short-range ballistic missiles had been launched inside Syria this week, a NATO official said on Wednesday, December 12, 2012. At the same time, United States announced that the forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, have used Scud missiles against opposition fighters.
     
A number of short-range ballistic missiles had been launched inside Syria this week, a NATO official said on Wednesday, December 12, 2012. At the same time, United States announced that the forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, have used Scud missiles against opposition fighters.
The Scud is a Russian-made medium range ballistic missile with capabilities to use nuclear of chemical warhead with a maximum effective range of 550 km.
     

"Allied intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets have detected the launch of a number of unguided, short-range ballistic missiles Scud inside Syria this week," said the NATO official.

"We do not know the details of the missiles, but trajectory and distance travelled indicate they were Scud-type missiles. The missiles were fired from inside Syria and they impacted inside Syria," he said.

The NATO official said no missile landed in Turkish territory and the military alliance had no information about casualties and damage on the ground.

United States military satellites picked up and confirmed the infrared signature of the four short-range Scud missiles, which were launched from the Damascus area into northern Syria, according to an official who declined to be named, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

The Scud SS-1 medium range ballistic missiles are battlefield support weapons designed to strike at targets such as marshalling areas, major storage dumps and airfields behind enemy lines. Warheads can be nuclear, chemical (persistent) or conventional HE.

Missile programs of Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran have been reported to use the Russian base system Scud technology to produce battlefield missiles capable of reaching up to 1,500 km in range.