SOURCE: DEBKAfile
Last week, Syrian test-fired one elderly Scud B (200km range) and two Scud D (700km range) missiles, capable of delivering air-burst chemical weapons. Syria’s missiles are routinely tested every summer. This time, Damascus took particular care to aim the missiles southwest, so as not to mistakenly hit US forces operating in the al Qaim province on the Iraqi side of its border. The Scud B broke up and shed debris over Turkey
All the same, The New York Times and the US State Department, confirming the Israeli report of the test, made a big fuss. The State Department spokesman scolded the Assad regime, calling the test “one more example of Syria being out of step with what’s going on in the rest of the region.” He said the US had long accused Syria of seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the ability to deliver them, while Iraq and Lebanon were focused on political and economic development.