Syria Test-Fires Scud Missiles
Friday, June 03, 2005

JERUSALEM — Syria test-fired three Scud missiles (search) late last
week, reinforcing Israeli worries about Damascus' ability to deliver a
missile-borne chemical attack against Israeli civilian targets,
Israeli military officials said Friday.

The Israeli military said one of the missiles broke up over Turkey.
The Turkish military said apparent missile debris from Syria (search)
landed in two agricultural villages in the southern province of Hatay,
causing no injuries or damage. It provided no information about the
types of missile fired.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official, speaking on customary condition
of anonymity, said Syria has assured Turkey the incident was "just an
accident" that occurred during routine military training.

Israeli security officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity
because the matter is so delicate, said it was Syria's first missile
test since 2001. They said they saw the launchings as a Syrian gesture
of defiance to the United States and the United Nations, which pushed
Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon after the February
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (search),
who favored the pullout.

The tests were timed just days before Lebanon holds its first
elections since the withdrawal.

Israel — which captured the Golan Heights (search) from Syria in the
1967 Mideast war — is particularly concerned about Syria's missile
program, where Damascus is focusing its efforts against Israel's air
superiority.

The Israeli security sources said the missiles Syria launched last
week included one older Scud B rocket, with a range of about 185
miles, and two Scud D's, with a range of about 435 miles. All three
missiles were launched from northern Syria, near Minakh, north of
Aleppo.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry official said relations between the two
neighbors were good and have been steadily improving. He pointed to a
series of recent high-level visits between the two countries,
including mutual visits by the countries' presidents.

But the Israeli security officials said this was the first time Syria
had fired a missile over another country — one that is a member of
NATO. Damascus easily could have moved its mobile launchers to the
center of the country to avoid flight over Turkey altogether, they
said.