U.S. Official: Israel Targeted Weapons

Filed at 7:06 p.m. ET

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Israeli warplanes targeted weapons destined for Hezbollah guerrillas in a strike last week in northeastern Syria, a U.S. government official said Wednesday. Syria's envoy to the United Nations called the claim ''nonsense.''

The American official said the target of the Sept. 6 attack was a site where Israel believed Syria stored weapons being sent from Iran to the militant Islamic group in Lebanon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information involved intelligence gathering and because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Officials in Washington had declined for several days to say whether they were aware of the airstrike, then on Tuesday confirmed they had intelligence indicating it took place.

Israel has declined to comment on the air operation, which the Syrians reported last week. Syria said only that warplanes entered its airspace, came under fire from anti-aircraft defenses, and dropped munitions and fuel tanks to lighten their loads while they fled.

Asked about the U.S. official's statement that a Hezbollah weapons shipment was the target, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari scoffed.

''This is, as we say in French, blah blah,'' Ja'afari told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. ''This is nonsense. This is an unfounded statement.''

But government officials and analysts in Syria would not discuss what exactly happened beyond the official statements.

Syria has called the incursion a ''hostile act'' and threatened unspecified retaliation, although its only response so far has been to complain to the United Nations. Israeli forces went on high alert in the occupied Golan Heights.

Despite the tensions, Damascus itself was quiet Wednesday, save for two dozen booms as authorities tested cannons that are fired to mark the end of each day's fast when the holy month of Ramadan begins Thursday.

Tents for Ramadan nights, where Muslims eat and smoke water pipes through the night, were erected in hotel gardens and outside restaurants. Syrians took to the bustling streets shopping on the last day before they begin a dawn-to-dusk fast for a month.

As a sign of business as usual, President Bashar Assad went to northwestern Syria on Sunday on a scheduled visit to open two hotels and a children's health clinic. On Wednesday, he met with a European Union delegation, Malaysia's foreign minister and Iran's industry minister.

North Korea this week condemned the Israeli incursion, calling it a ''dangerous provocation.''

That prompted speculation the target inside Syria involved North Korean materials or missiles. North Korea and Syria have a longstanding alliance, and Israeli experts say North Korea and Iran have been major suppliers of Syria's missile stock.

U.S. Official: Israel Targeted Weapons - New York Times