Friday, 29 March 2013


DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 28, 2013, 11:13 AM (GMT+02:00)
The heavy MLRS rocket launcher in Syrian rebel hands
The heavy MLRS rocket launcher in Syrian rebel hands
Syrian rebels in Aleppo are obtaining their first heavy weapons – 220-mm MLRS rocket launchers – through a large-scale supply operation run by Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan,DEBKAfile reports exclusively. In Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo, his agents snapped up Russian-made MLRS (Smerch) and Hurricane 9K57 launchers capable of firing scores of 220-mm rockets to a distance of 70 kilometers. Bandar hopes these weapons will expedite the rebels' capture of the big Syrian air base of Nairab near Aleppo.
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Assad's Loyal Units Outfitted for CW
Protective gear issued to 4th and 3rd Army Divisions around Damascus. 
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Obama Opts for Action vs Syria’s CW
Brings Turkey, Israel, Jordan and NATO aboard US-led operation. 
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Iran, Russia double arms airlifts to Syria
US, Israeli troops may meet Iranian combatants in Syria. 
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Headlines
Joint US, NATO, Israeli strike awaits Syria
DEBKAfile DEBKA-Net-Weekly
March 26, 2013, 12:30 PM (GMT+02:00)
Syrian soldiers kitted up for chemical warfare
Syrian soldiers kitted up for chemical warfare

The coming DEBKA-Net-Weekly out Friday expands on its disclosure of last week that during his visit to Israel, US President Barack Obama struck a deal with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for military action against Syrian chemical weapons. The new issue will flesh out that core decision with exclusive revelations on NATO’s role in setting up the expedition, its participants, targets and ramifications, including likely responses by Moscow and Tehran.
Don’t miss this exceptionally relevant and momentous issue.
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Arab League Summit: The empty leadership chair in Doha
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis
March 27, 2013, 1:09 PM (GMT+02:00)
The empty chair in at the Doha Arab summit
The empty chair in at the Doha Arab summit
After patching up the feud between Israel and Turkey, US President Barack Obama faces a much tougher task: brokering ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. To address the looming Syrian chemical arms crisis, President Obama needs a united anti-Assad Arab-Islamic front. He faces a choice between two blocs for the lead role: Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Abu Dhabi, or Turkey and Qatar. Most Arab rulers want no truck with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, which is why he vents his frustration on Israel.
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Al Qaeda brigade captures Syrian-Israeli-Jordanian border junction 
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
March 25, 2013, 1:03 PM (GMT+02:00)
Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra fighters on Golan
Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra fighters on Golan
The Al Musanna Brigade of al Qaeda’s Syrian arm, Jabhat al-Nusra, captured the highly strategic intersection of the Syrian, Israeli and Jordan borders, just east of the Golan, on Passover Eve, Monday, March 25, DEBKAfile reports exclusively. The jihadists have also seized Wadi ar-Raqqad which marks the Golan’s eastern boundary and is one of Israel’s water sources. Next door, Iraqi Al Qaeda is preparing to push trucks loaded with Chlorine gas-CI trucks into Syria for the jihadists to use against Assad’s forces.
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