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Serangan mortir Suriah menghantam pemukiman di Turki (REUTERS/Rauf Maltas/Anadolu Agency )
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VIVAnews - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fired Scud missiles at rebels trying to overthrow the government. According to a senior U.S. official who declined to be named, this step Assad to maintain power.
U.S. officials stated not knowing the use of these missiles before since the war first broke out 20 months ago and has killed 40 thousand people. White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to confirm the report.
"If true, this is the last desperate act of a regime that has shown harassment on innocent people," he said. "Mind Suriaah regime to launch missiles at the border on its own people surprise, despair, completely disproportionate military escalation."
In Brussels, a NATO official who also declined to be named, said a number of Scud-type missiles have been launched in recent days. "The aim and distance showed them the type of Scud missiles," he said.
Thomas Houlahan, a military analyst from the Center for Security and Science, said the weapon was likely made in North Korea, Hwasong-6, a Soviet Scud type that has been upgraded. He stated, Hwasong-6 is more accurate than the original version of Scud, could carry 820 gram warhead and has a range of about 700 kilometers.
However, the use of these missiles raises the question, why Assad did not use the air force alone. "If you want to drop 820 grams of explosives to people with tolerable accuracy, and I have the air force and they do not, why do not I use a plane?" Houlahan said. Therefore, Houlahan see Assad does not believe its own air force. (adi)
