Report Ties Israeli Attack on Sudan Factory, 2010 Dubai Assassination

Claims Israeli F-15s Targeted Shipping Containers, Not Factory

A new report from the British Sunday Times citing Israeli and Western sources aims to put last week’s apparent Israeli attack on a Khartoum weapons factory in broader context, with claims that the attack is tied to the January 2010 Dubai assassination scandal.

The report details the attack, saying it included two Israeli F-15I bombers as well as four Israeli F-15 fighters aimed at protecting the bombers if they were confronted by Sudanese Air Force. Israeli helicopters with ground troops were also in the area in case of a shootdown.

The “why” of the attack centers on the January 2010 assassination of Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, with claims that Mossad agents involved in the assassination intercepted a communiqué tying the arms factory to Iran, with Israel apparently believing Sudan was building Iran-designed Shabaab missiles that were Gaza-bound.

That led Israel’s Air Force to decide on the attack, with claims that they were targeting shipping containers on the site, not the factory itself.

This adds more questions than it answers, including how a nearly three-year-old communiqué led Israel to conclude these specific containers were headed for Gaza, and why Iran would allow their most advanced weapons designs to be produced in another nations.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.