A Russian mercenary group is preparing to deliver advanced air defense missile systems to Hezbollah as Lebanese militia groups battle Israel, according to US intelligence.
American officials are now monitoring talks between Wagner’s mercenary group and militias supporting Lebanon’s Hamas over a possible delivery of the SA-22, a system that uses missiles and anti-aircraft guns to combat airstrikes, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The SA-22 system, also known as the Pantsir-S1, is a Russian-made truck-mounted surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system.
The weapon has seen action in the Russia-Ukraine War and could be used in the Middle East as a defense for Iranian-backed militia groups against Israeli airstrikes.
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated along the Lebanese border as the war with Hamas rages in Gaza.
American officials said the SA-22s had not yet been sent to Lebanon, but noted that some Hezbollah and Wagner personnel were currently stationed in Syria.
Hezbollah fighters allegedly contacted the Russian Wagner mercenary group to receive anti-aircraft weapons. The SA-22 AP, developed in Russia, uses missiles and gunfire to take out aircraft.Imagebroker/Shutterstock
It remains unclear whether the weapons could be transported from Lebanon to Gaza as a way to help Hamas combat Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territories.
Russian officials have yet to comment on the alleged talks between Wagner and Hezbollah.
The US has announced its presence in the area by stationing aircraft carriers in the Eastern Mediterranean as a deterrent to Hezbollah joining Hamas in attacking Israel.
After Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7, President Biden warned outsiders against launching attacks on Israel’s borders.
The Wagner Group lost its autonomy following an attempted mercenary coup in the summer. AP
Despite the warning, the heads of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad met last week to announce their united war against the Jewish State.
The three terrorist leaders – dubbed the “axis of resistance” – met to set the goal of achieving “real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine” and stopping “Israel’s treacherous and brutal aggression against our oppressed and steadfast people in Gaza and the West Bank,” according to a brief statement issued afterwards.
The meeting came after Israel vowed to launch a full-scale military strike against Iran if Hezbollah joined the ongoing war.
“Iran’s plan is to attack Israel on all fronts. If we find that they intend to target Israel, we will not only respond to the attack, but we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran,” Nir Barkat, Israel’s Economy Minister, told the Daily Mail.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
