Syria's Southern Front claims it created a new rocket, but where did it really come from?

Syria's Southern Front in Daraa claimed to have introduced a weapon in late June, and its presence on YouTube is creating questions for those who’ve recognized the arms under another name.

الناطق العسكري لمعركة عاصفة الجنوب يكشف في لقاء حصري عبر إذاعة الهيئة السورية للإعلام عن سلاح جديد في معركة عاصفة... http://t.co/QByp5rAymS

— عاصفة الجنوب (@Southern_StormD) June 29, 2015

Translation: Southern Storm spokesman reveals a new weapon over Syrian radio...

The linked video was later removed but showed Southern Front soldiers preparing a rocket they called al-Asifah. The militant in the video said the rocket was invented by the Free Syrian Army, weighs 1,500 kilograms (3,300 pounds) and was allegedly used to bomb the Syrian army's control room in al-Manshiya. We found the video elsewhere.

Turns out that's not the first time someone's claimed to have invented the weapon. The name may be new, but the rocket had already appeared on YouTube videos and photos several times. In June 2014 a report on Jaysh al-Ummah, a former rebel group, mentioned use of the Qa'qa rocket — the resemblance is uncanny.

Daesh (ISIS) is another group that claimed to have invented the weapon, having shared photos of the makeshift weapons online.

One thing all of the groups have in common is a presence in southern Syria, which means the fighting probably led to artillery getting in the wrong hands. The only question is how.

Not much has been said about the Qa'qa rocket, but the earliest mention of it was with Jaysh al-Ummah. Tensions between the former rebel group and the FSA already ran high, but in March Jaysh al-Ummah surrendered and defected to the Syrian Arab Army.  

Jaish al-Ummah & Liwa' al-Anfal changed loyalty from Jaish al-Islam to #SAA. Today they are fighting at Ghouta front against "old buddies".

— Elijah J. Magnier (@EjmAlrai) March 9, 2015

The Southern Front, an entity of the FSA, attacked SAA army base Brigade 52 in Daraa, where the opposition claimed arms left behind by the artillery battalion. The tweet that declared the Southern Front’s new weapon appeared a few weeks later.

Here's a GIF of the weapon:

By Hayat Norimine

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