TEL AVIV Ñ Iraq has transferred several shipments of long-range rockets to the Syrian border over the past month.
Israeli intelligence sources said the rockets are intended for Hizbullah in Lebanon as
part of preparations for a massive strike against Israel.
The sources said the regime of President Saddam Hussein relayed rockets with a range
of 150 kilometers to Syria, which controls the flow of
weapons to the Iranian-backed Hizbullah.
The rockets, the production of which are not banned by the United
Nations, represents the longest-range weapons meant for Hizbullah, Middle East Newsline reported. Until
now, Iran and Syria have transferred to Hizbullah rockets with a range of
between 70 and 100 kilometers.
The sources said Iraq has been holding contacts with Hizbullah in an
effort to persuade the Lebanese-based organization to launch a massive
attack on the eve of any U.S.-led war against Baghdad. They said Hizbullah
has refrained from any commitments.
The Iraqi rockets were sent to the Syrian border over the last month,
the sources said. They said they did not know whether the rockets have been
received and absorbed by Hizbullah or kept by Iranian or Syrian officials
responsible for the organization.
The Israeli Haaretz daily reported that Syria has been helping Iraq in
trying to find weapons to defend against any U.S.-led attack. The newspaper
said Damascus has imported a range of weapons components and attempted to
find
medium-range Scud missiles for the Saddam regime.