Hezbollah's arsenal inflicting heavy toll

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

August 10, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Most of the Israeli military casualties in south Lebanon - including a majority of the 15 killed yesterday - have been caused by Hezbollah's powerful arsenal of anti-tank missiles, according to a senior Lebanese security official.

The Shia guerrilla group also has deployed well-trained anti-tank teams in the south to transport these missiles and fire them in ways that would inflict heavy casualties on Israeli forces. The units are made up of four to six fighters who move around in cars or on foot, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"These anti-tank units are the most effective Hezbollah weapon in fighting the Israelis," the official said. "They have the training and missiles to inflict heavy damage."

Hezbollah is using three kinds of sophisticated anti-tank missiles that have enabled it to disable - and, in some cases, destroy - Israel's most powerful armored vehicle, the Merkava tank. The Merkava is reinforced with several tons of armor, a virtual fortress on tracks intended to ensure its crew's survival on the battlefield.

Since war broke out on July 12, at least 82 Israeli soldiers have been killed. The majority died during fighting in south Lebanon. In a televised speech yesterday, Hezbollah leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah claimed that his fighters had destroyed 60 Merkava tanks and killed more than 100 Israeli troops. Israeli officials have refused to detail how many tanks have been damaged or destroyed.

All three types of anti-tank missiles used by Hezbollah are relatively easy to transport and can be fired by a single guerrilla. They all rely on armor-piercing warheads. The most prevalent of Hezbollah's anti-tank weapons is the Russian-made RPG-29, a powerful variation on a standard rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG. The RPG-29 has a range of 500 yards.

Hezbollah also has stockpiles of two other potent anti-tank missiles, according to the official: the Russian made Metis-M, which has a range of 1 mile and can carry high-explosive warheads; and the European-built MILAN (a French acronym for Anti-Tank Light Infantry Missile), which has a range of 1.2 miles, a guidance system and the ability to be fired at night. Hezbollah is believed to have acquired most of its missiles from Iran, either over land from Syria or by ship.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the group has deployed anti-tank units that rely heavily on these three kinds of missiles in ground combat. He said the teams were present during intense fighting in the southern city of Bint Jbeil, where Israel suffered its heaviest casualties. On July 26, nine Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 20 injured in and around Bint Jbeil - until yesterday the highest single-day toll on the battlefield for Israel troops.

In one instance, the official said, a Hezbollah team fired several RPG-29s at a house in Bint Jbeil where an elite Israeli military unit had taken position, killing four soldiers.

The use of anti-tank missiles in hit-and-run attacks fits into Hezbollah's strategy in fighting a far superior Israeli military. In a speech last week, Nasrallah acknowledged that Israeli troops have captured territory in south Lebanon and said his fighters were not trying to hold ground.

"We are fighting a guerrilla war. Our policy is not to hang onto geography," he said. "It is beneficial for us to allow them to advance to the entrances of villages. Our goal is to inflict maximum casualties and damage against the enemy."

Hezbollah's anti-tank capability has received far less attention than its arsenal of Katyusha rockets and other missiles being fired on northern Israel. Even after four weeks of intense Israeli bombardment, Hezbollah still has several hundred medium-range rockets and a few dozen longer-range missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel, according to the security official.

Before war broke out, Hezbollah had an arsenal of up to 12,000 rockets and missiles. About 10,000 of those were inaccurate Katyushas - with a range of 12 miles - that military experts say pose only a modest threat to Israel because they cannot be guided. The group also had several hundred Iranian-made Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 rockets, with ranges of 22 miles and 45 miles, respectively. And the most potent weapons in Hezbollah's arsenal were several dozen Zelzal missiles, which have a range of 120 miles and can carry 1,300 pounds of explosives.

In Hezbollah's arsenal

3 anti-tank systems used against Israel

RPG-29

Weight: About 41 pounds when ready to fire

Range: From about 492 yards to 547 yards

Milan

Weight: About 27 pounds in carrying mode, 25 pounds in firing mode.

Range: Can reach maximum distance of 1.2 miles in 12.5 seconds

Metis-M

Weight: About 53 pounds when ready to fire (launcher and one missile)

Range: Can reach maximum distance of close to 1 mile in about 8 seconds

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