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Drone attacks in Middle East raise fears of escalating conflict
Source: The Guardian
Drone attacks in Middle East raise fears of escalating conflict
Multiple attacks in region suggest drone warfare could extend to distant battlefields
Martin Chulov in Beirut, Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem and Mohammed Rasool in Qayara, Iraq
Wed 28 Aug 2019 19.37 BST First published on Wed 28 Aug 2019 17.40 BST
A spate of drone attacks in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and now Lebanon has raised the spectre of a new era of conflict in the region, due to the ability of stealth-like weapons to penetrate distant battlefields and hit closely guarded targets.
Drone warfare has become an instrumental factor in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, now being fought over both sides of the Israeli border and in skies across the region.
Small, cheap to produce and capable of evading radar systems, drones have been a centrepiece of the Israeli military’s arsenal for years – primarily in its operations over Gaza.
Iran has also begun deploying the unmanned, remotely piloted machines in clashes with Israel. Tehran has long used proxies in such actions but is now increasingly carrying them out itself. All sides see the technology as having surgical qualities.
Israeli officials have told European diplomats the two drones which crashed in Beirut on Sunday were sent from Israel to disrupt efforts by Hezbollah to fit advanced guidance systems to rudimentary rockets, sources have revealed.
-snip-
Multiple attacks in region suggest drone warfare could extend to distant battlefields
Martin Chulov in Beirut, Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem and Mohammed Rasool in Qayara, Iraq
Wed 28 Aug 2019 19.37 BST First published on Wed 28 Aug 2019 17.40 BST
A spate of drone attacks in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and now Lebanon has raised the spectre of a new era of conflict in the region, due to the ability of stealth-like weapons to penetrate distant battlefields and hit closely guarded targets.
Drone warfare has become an instrumental factor in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, now being fought over both sides of the Israeli border and in skies across the region.
Small, cheap to produce and capable of evading radar systems, drones have been a centrepiece of the Israeli military’s arsenal for years – primarily in its operations over Gaza.
Iran has also begun deploying the unmanned, remotely piloted machines in clashes with Israel. Tehran has long used proxies in such actions but is now increasingly carrying them out itself. All sides see the technology as having surgical qualities.
Israeli officials have told European diplomats the two drones which crashed in Beirut on Sunday were sent from Israel to disrupt efforts by Hezbollah to fit advanced guidance systems to rudimentary rockets, sources have revealed.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/drone-attacks-in-middle-east-raise-fears-of-escalating-conflict