Gen. Yuri Ivanov, 52, deputy head of GRU, the Russian military's overseas intelligence arm of Russian military, was found dead in mysterious circumstances described in a terse official Russian eulogy on Aug. 30 as a tragic swimming accident "several days ago." No further details were provided such as where he died. The Karrar bomber drone unveiled by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Aug. 22 is summed up byDEBKAfile's military sources as a primitive copy of an obsolete unmanned US cruise missile from the 1950s that was derived from the V1 "buzz bomb" which the Germans fired against London at the end of World War II. Even so, mass-produced with extended range, large swarms of these flying bombs could cause death and destruction if released over densely populated Israeli areas and US military targets.
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 30, 2010, 6:13 PM (GMT+02:00)
DEBKAfile's exclusive sources report that Gen. Ivanov appears to have drowned in early August at the Syrian Mediterranean port town of Latakia. After he had been missing for ten days, his body was washed up on the shore of southern Turkey on Aug. 12.
Turkish sources revealed that his remains were recovered by Turkish fishermen from Cevlik village in the Hatay province near the Syrian border. According to unofficial sources, the body was too decomposed for identification. The Russian general was finally identified by the cross around its neck, but there was no word on the cause of his death.
DEBKAfile's Middle East intelligence sources do not believe he accidentally drowned but find it more likely that was murdered and his body thrown into the sea. They say it is inconceivable that the deputy head of GRU would have gone swimming without bodyguards, especially at a Russian foreign base, and drowned without anyone noticing. Even if he did drown accidentally, his guards would not have rested until they recovered his body and not let drift for miles. Furthermore, Latakia is a summer resort frequented by high-ranking Syrian and Gulf emirate officials with their families. Its bathing beaches are well guarded by security personnel as well as professional life-savers, who would have been instantly alerted to any mishap in the water.
Our sources surmise that Gen. Yuri Ivanov went missing from a private, secretive engagement from which his aides and guards were banished to wait outside, not swimming alone in the sea of Latakia. This would account for the delay in reporting his disappearance.
They recall in this regard his former position as head of the North Caucasus branch of Russian military intelligence, which he held until late 2006. In this capacity he played a leading role in clandestine operations against al Qaeda and the Chechen revolt. Among the many terrorist groups present in Syria are al Qaeda cells from the Caucasian. 
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Monday 30 August 2010
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