U.S. Denies Lebanese Army M113 APCs Given to Hezbollah: http://ift.tt/2i4nH8P![A Lebanese army soldier stands on an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) deployed in Beirut on January 19, 2011. AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH EID (Photo credit should read JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images)]()
(AFP) – The United States denied Wednesday an Israeli claim that US-supplied armored vehicles seen being operated by Hezbollah in Syria had been given to the Islamist militia by Lebanon’s official army. Last month, footage emerged of Hezbollah fighters operating M113 armored personnel carriers in Syria, where the militia — blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization — is fighting in support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. On Wednesday, a senior Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity said Israel believes these vehicles were drawn from stocks supplied by Washington to the Lebanese Armed Forces. But, in Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said US officials have investigated and do not believe that Lebanon has violated its agreement not to transfer on US-supplied equipment. “When this allegation was raised in November, the Department of Defense did a structural analysis of the armored personnel carriers in question at that time and concluded that these vehicles were not from the Lebanese Armed Forces. Our assessment remains the same now,” Kirby told AFP. “As we noted when this first came up, the Lebanese Armed Forces stated publicly that the vehicles depicted online were never part of their equipment roster,” he added. “The LAF finish reading at http://ift.tt/2ie2qN4
(AFP) – The United States denied Wednesday an Israeli claim that US-supplied armored vehicles seen being operated by Hezbollah in Syria had been given to the Islamist militia by Lebanon’s official army. Last month, footage emerged of Hezbollah fighters operating M113 armored personnel carriers in Syria, where the militia — blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization — is fighting in support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. On Wednesday, a senior Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity said Israel believes these vehicles were drawn from stocks supplied by Washington to the Lebanese Armed Forces. But, in Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said US officials have investigated and do not believe that Lebanon has violated its agreement not to transfer on US-supplied equipment. “When this allegation was raised in November, the Department of Defense did a structural analysis of the armored personnel carriers in question at that time and concluded that these vehicles were not from the Lebanese Armed Forces. Our assessment remains the same now,” Kirby told AFP. “As we noted when this first came up, the Lebanese Armed Forces stated publicly that the vehicles depicted online were never part of their equipment roster,” he added. “The LAF finish reading at http://ift.tt/2ie2qN4
