The institute obtained commercial satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe of
an area of eastern Syria along the Euphrates River. The imagery, taken on
Aug. 7, showed a site believed to be the target of the Israeli air strike on
Sept. 6. The apparent Israeli target, about 145 kilometers from the Iraqi
border, was described as a building 47 meters high next to what appeared to
be a pump station located along the river.
"A reactor requires a large volume of water for cooling and this pump
station could serve that purpose," the report, which included satellite
images, said. "The purpose of the secondary building in the image is
unknown, but it does not appear to be a temporary structure. Trucks can be
seen approximately 100 meters to the east of the tall building. This, along
with evidence of heavy machinery tracks around this site, indicates recent
construction activity."
The facility was located 3.5 kilometers from an air field, believed to
serve North Korean technicians. ISIS said the suspected Syrian nuclear
facility appeared incomplete.
"If the design of the reactor is similar to a North Korean reactor, it
is likely a small gas-graphite reactor of the type North Korea built at the
Yongbyon nuclear site north of Pyongyang," ISIS said in a report authored by
David Albright and Paul Brannan. "The Syrian building size suggests that the
reactor would be in the range of about 20-25 megawatts-thermal, large enough
to make about one nuclear weapon's worth of plutonium each year."
"If Syria wanted to build nuclear weapons, it would need a specialized
facility to chemically separate the plutonium from the irradiated fuel
discharged from the reactor," the report, released on Wednesday, said. "It
is unknown whether Syria has such a facility under construction or planned."
ISIS stressed that doubts remain over the identification of the Syrian
facility. The report said it could not determine the state of the purported
reactor or the extent of nuclear aid from North Korea.
"Which reactor components did Syria obtain from North Korea or
elsewhere, and where are they now?" the report asked. "Is Syria able to
produce any of the key reactor components itself? Could Syria have finished
the reactor without on-going North Korean assistance? Did Syria plan to
build a plutonium separation plant?"
