There was an explosion in mid-July at a facility in Syria as technicians attempted to mount it on to a Scud missile, killing 15 Syrian soldiers and dozens of Iranian engineers, the New York Post reported today (see GSN, Aug. 13).
The July 23 detonation reportedly released deadly chemical agents into the air at a factory about 50 miles from the Turkish border. The facility, located near a chemical storage site, was being used to refit ballistic missiles with chemical warheads, according to Jane's Defense Weekly (Clemente Lisi, New York Post, Sept. 19).
"The explosion occurred when fuel caught alight in the missile production laboratory," Jane's reported, quoting defense sources in Syria.
"The blast dispersed chemical agents (including VX and sarin nerve agents and mustard blister agent) across the storage facility and outside. "Other Iranian engineers were seriously injured with chemical burns to exposed body parts" (Reuters/Yahoo!News, Sept. 19).
The official Syrian news agency attributed the blast to a "heat wave," the Post reported. Syria's report did not mention any Iranian casualties.
Syria has a lengthy history of chemical weapons development. Russian intelligence has reported the country possessing hundreds of chemical bombs that could be dropped from aircraft, according to the Post. Since 1985, the country has produced missiles capable of carrying sarin (Post).
The accident serves as confirmation of reports of more than two years of cooperation between Iran and Syria on chemical weapons development, according to Jane's.
The report said that Iran has provided planning, establishment and management aid for five industrial-scale chemical weapons development plants, Agence France-Presse reported (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Sept. 19).