Eye Spy - May 2018

EYE SPY INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE 115 2018 27

EYES ONLY: 17 April 2018 - United Nations. An interest-

ing photo of the UN Security Council Emergency meeting

following the WMD attack, shows Nikki Haley (on

screen), United States Permanent Representative to the

UN, as seen through the Russian interpretation booth

Marine Corps

Lt. General

Kenneth

McKenzie

Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad said, “Britain

was absolutely involved in faking a chemical

attack in Douma to justify the Western air

strikes” against Assad’s regime. In Moscow,

Russian Ministry of Defence spokesman

Major General Igor Konashenkov said Britain

was “directly involved in the provocation.”

As for the actual attack, Syria claimed many of

the missiles launched in the strike were shot

down before they had reached their final target

• a claim ignored by military intelligence

Syrian

Foreign

Minister

Faisal

Mekdad

analysts in London and Washington. Media

houses in Moscow said 71 cruise missiles

launched in the attack had been intercepted

and destroyed. Russia’s Ministry of Defence

confirmed the reports, claiming Syrian air

defences, supplied by the USSR over 30-years

ago, were responsible.

However, aerial imagery secured over

designated target areas reveal severe impact

damage and building destruction. One target

was Syria’s primary research and develop-

ment centre for WMD at Barzah. This was

completely destroyed. Assessments continue

to be made on other sites, but a Pentagon

official said: “We selected these targets

carefully to minimise the risk to innocent

civilians.” Marine Corps Lt. General Kenneth

McKenzie referenced the three WMD sites -

“We successfully hit every target,” he said.

INTELLIGENCE

US sponsored operatives, including private

independent Syrian-based concerns, collected

blood and urine samples from victims of the

attack - most tested positive for chemical

weapons, according to officials. The samples

suggested the presence of both chlorine gas

and an unnamed nerve agent. Typically, such

samples are obtained through hospitals and

collected by US or foreign intelligence assets

on the ground. Western officials said they

were “confident” in the intelligence.

Syria is known to have stock piles of the nerve

agent sarin, and has previously used a mixture

of chlorine and sarin in attacks, a US official

said. Five years ago, Eye Spy was given GPS

data of suspected locations of WMD stock-

piles. Most were stored near air bases.

Primary strike aircraft used in the attack

USAF B-1B Lancer

RAF Tornado GR4

French Air Force Rafale