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Iran Training Palestinians to Operate Anti-Tank Missiles

(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz - Palestinian terrorists from Gaza have undergone extensive military training recently in Iran to operate sophisticated anti-tank missiles. The IDF believes that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have obtained several hundred advanced Russian-made anti-tank missiles - such as the Kornet and the Fagot - which have a range of more than 4 km. and are capable of penetrating armored personnel carriers and some IDF tanks. Terrorist groups in Gaza had only a small number of these missiles at the time of Israel's offensive against Hamas in 2009. "They were not trained well then, and as a result, the missiles were not effective," a senior IDF officer explained this week. "Since then, the groups have significantly increased the stockpile and have also sent specific terrorists to Iran for extensive training where they became anti-tank missile experts." The level of expertise was demonstrated earlier this year when Hamas fired a Kornet anti-tank missile from a distance of 3 km. at a school bus near Nahal Oz, which killed 16-year-old Daniel Viflic. "Gaza is completely different today than what it was almost three years ago," a senior defense official said. "The amounts of weaponry are significantly higher as well as the type of weaponry and its sophistication."
2011-11-17 00:00:00
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