The Russian mercenary group is preparing to deliver an advanced air defense missile system to Hezbollah as the Lebanese militia clashes with Israel, according to US intelligence.
US officials are currently monitoring discussions between the mercenary group Wagner and the Lebanese militia supporting Hamas over the possible delivery of the SA-22, a system that uses anti-aircraft missiles and weapons to combat airstrikes, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The SA-22 system, also known as Pantsir-S1, is a truck-mounted anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile weapons system manufactured in Russia.
The weapon has seen action in the war between Russia and Ukraine and could be deployed in the Middle East to defend the Iranian-backed militia group against Israeli airstrikes.
Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have increased along the Lebanese border as the war with Hamas rages in Gaza.
US officials say the SA-22 has not yet been delivered to Lebanon, but noted that some Hezbollah and Wagner personnel are currently stationed in Syria.
Hezbollah fighters are allegedly in contact with the Russian mercenary group Wagner to receive an anti-aircraft weapon. AP The SA-22, developed in Russia, uses missiles and gunfire to shoot down aircraft.Imagebroker/Shutterstock
It is not yet clear whether the weapon could be transported from Lebanon to Gaza as a means to help Hamas combat Israeli bombing of the Palestinian enclave.
Russian officials have not yet commented on the alleged talks between Wagner and Hezbollah.
The United States has made its presence in the area known by stationing an aircraft carrier 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 outside parties against carrying out an assault on Israel’s borders.
The Wagner Group lost its autonomy after the attempted coup d’état by mercenaries during 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 trio of terrorist leaders – dubbed the “axis of the resistance” – met to set the goal of achieving “a real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine” and stopping Israel’s “treacherous and brutal aggression against our oppressed people and firm in Gaza and the West Bank,” according to a brief statement issued later.
The meeting came after Israel promised to launch a large-scale military attack on Iran if Hezbollah joined the ongoing war.
“Iran’s plan is to attack Israel on all fronts. “If we find out that they intend to attack Israel, we will not only retaliate on those fronts, but we will go to the head of the snake, which is Iran,” Nir Barkat, Israel’s Economy Minister, told the Daily Mail.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn