RT.comTue, 03 Sep 2013 05:31 UTC
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Russia's early warning radars detected the launch of two ballistic rockets in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Russia's Defense Ministry stated.
Israel later claimed responsibility for firing the target test rockets.The launch took place at 06:16 GMT Tuesday, according to Russia's Ministry of Defense.
The trajectory of the missiles is reported to have been from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea towards the eastern landmass. Both rockets have allegedly fallen into the sea, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Russia's President Putin has already been informed about the incident by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
The Syrian embassy in Moscow currently has no information on the incident.
There were no rocket attack signals or blasts in Damascus, the Russian embassy in Syria noted.
Syria's missile warning system has not detected any rockets landing on their territory, a Syrian security source told Lebanese channel al-Manar TV.
The Israeli military apparently have no data on the launch either. The UK has stressed that they "have nothing to do" with the launch.No American ships or planes stationed in the Mediterranean have launched any missiles, US officials told CBS News.A NATO spokesman said the alliance was trying to verify the reports. Until then, the bloc will not comment on the incident.
Armavir, an early warning system against missile attack, is situated in southern Russia. It is run by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces. They provide radar coverage of the Middle East. There are two radars there, with one of them facing southwest and the other southeast.
Comment: So the original story was that Israel denied having any knowledge about these alleged missiles being launched.
Israel then later claimed responsibility for firing the two 'test' rockets.
Since RT first published this article on 3 September, they updated it with new and completely contradictory information on 4 September:
Israel claims joint US missile launch in Mediterranean for 'target practice'
Israel says it carried out a "joint" US missile launch in the Mediterranean, having earlier claimed ignorance. Russian radars detected two ballistic rockets fired in the region on Tuesday, sparking widespread speculation over who was behind the launch.
A spokesperson for the Israeli army confirmed that a launch of a missile had been carried out 9:15am local time (06:15 GMT), adding that US forces in the Mediterranean had been given prior warning of the drill.
A fighter jet launched an Ankor-type ("Sparrow") missile as part of a drill to test the Israeli missile defense system. However, earlier, when the Russian government announced it had detected the firing of "two ballistic objects" in the area, Israel insisted it had no "information on this issue yet."
Despite Israeli claimed of a "joint US" missile launch, the American Navy maintained that no rockets were launched by US forces in the region.
"No missiles were fired from US ships in the Mediterranean," said the spokesman, who made no further comment on the matter.
Other members of the international community were quick to follow suit with France, UK and Italy denying any knowledge of the test launch. NATO said it was investigating the incident.
The Pentagon later admitted that the Israeli missile test in the Mediterranean was carried out "with technical support of the US Defense Department."
The test was also "pre-planned," according to the US Defense Department spokesman George Little quoted by Itar-Tass.
The Israeli Defense Ministry confirmed a US defense agency took part in a "successful flight test of the new version of the Sparrow target missile" in an e-mail statement to RT Arabic.
"Israel's Missile Defense Organization and the US Missile Defense Agency officials conducted the flight test. The main contractor for the integration and development of the Sparrow is Rafael and the main contractor of the Arrow Weapon System is MLM of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in conjunction with Boeing," the statement explained.
The Russian Defense Ministry initially reported that "two ballistic objects" were picked up on radars in the central Mediterranean and were moving towards the East. Later, citing a security source inside the Syrian government, RIA Novosti reported that the rockets had fallen into the sea.
Meanwhile, Syria's missile detection system did not pick up any rockets landing on Syrian territory, a security source told Lebanese channel al-Manar TV.
So now the Israelis have claimed they fired at least one of these missiles
from a fighter jet, (which may or may not have been done with US knowledge or assistance
) although that still leaves unexplained the Russian statement that both missiles were launched
from the sea...
Pentagon: Israel test-fires missile, U.S. helps
Earlier, Russia announced that its early warning system detected the launch of two missiles in the sea. Russia's state-run news outlet RIA Novosti said the launch was detected Tuesday morning by radar in the southern Russian city of Armavir, citing a Defense Ministry spokesman.
"The targets' trajectories ran from the central to the eastern Mediterranean," RIA Novosti reported, citing the spokesman.
Stay tuned for more madness from the Zionists...
Comment: So the original story was that Israel denied having any knowledge about these alleged missiles being launched.
Israel then later claimed responsibility for firing the two 'test' rockets.
Since RT first published this article on 3 September, they updated it with new and completely contradictory information on 4 September: So now the Israelis have claimed they fired at least one of these missiles from a fighter jet, (which may or may not have been done with US knowledge or assistance) although that still leaves unexplained the Russian statement that both missiles were launched from the sea... Stay tuned for more madness from the Zionists...