The Sunday Times of London provides additional information on the September 6 foray of Israeli warplanes into Syria, claiming that Israel "blew apart" or possibly hijacked a nuclear cache, uranium enrichment facilities, or other non-conventional weapons equipment furnished by North Korea.

The report begins by saying: "It was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line. On the ground, Syria's formidable air defences went dead. An audacious raid on a Syrian target 50 miles from the Iraqi border was under way."

The Times, quoting Israeli sources, said that preparations for the attack had been going on since late spring, when Meir Dagan, the chief of Mossad, presented Israeli PM Ehud Olmert with evidence that Syria was seeking to purchase a nuclear device from North Korea.

"This was supposed to be a devastating Syrian surprise for Israel," said an Israeli source, the Times reported. "We've known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scud (missiles), but Israel can't live with a nuclear warhead."

The target was identified as a northern Syrian facility that purported to be an agricultural research center on the Euphrates river, reportedly Deir az Zor. Israel had been monitoring it for some time, concerned that it was being used to extract uranium from phosphates. The Times, citing an "Israeli air force source," reported that the Israeli satellite Ofek 7, launched in June, was diverted from Iran to Syria, sending out high-quality images of northeastern Syria every 90 minutes.

The Times report said that "only three Israeli cabinet ministers are said to have known the details of the attack  -- Olmert, Ehud Barak the Defense Minister and Tzipi Livni, the Foreign Minister. The American administration was also consulted. According to Israeli sources, American air force codes were given to the Israeli air force attache in Washington to ensure Israel's F15Is would not mistakenly attack their US counterparts."

© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)