Hizbullah Plans To Build SAM Network

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- The Israeli intelligence community has determined that
the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah intends to establish an air defense network
in Lebanon.
Officials said Hizbullah has introduced advanced shoulder-fired
anti-aircraft systems, such as the SA-18 Igla-S surface-to-air missile, in
Lebanon. They said an undetermined number of SA-18s, capable of shooting
Israeli fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, have been deployed in southern
Lebanon.
"They are building an air defense network and the SA-18 is the first
step," an official said.
[On Aug. 13, at least 19 Lebanese soldiers were killed when a bomb
ripped through a military bus in the northern city of Tripoli. Officials
said this marked the first major attack on the Lebanese Army since the
installation of the new Hizbullah-dominated government of Prime Minister
Fuad Siniora.]
The Lebanese daily Al Akhbar said Hizbullah intends to take measures to
stop Israeli overflights. On July 31, the pro-Hizbullah newspaper quoted a
militia source as saying that Hizbullah was "close to adopting practical
measures that will force Israel to cease the overflights."