October 28, 2012

(JTA) — A weapons factory in Khartoum was hit by an airstrike, satellite images show, according to a U.S. group monitoring Sudan.

Sudan blames Israel for last week’s airstrike, saying that four military planes that attacked the plant on Oct. 23 belonged to Israel and was seen entering the country’s airspace from the east. 

The Satellite Sentinel Project released to the Associated Press over the weekend satellite images that show crates consistent with an airstrike.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attack.

Sudan “reserves the right to strike back at Israel,” Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman said shortly after explosions ripped through the factory. The Associated Press quoted him as saying his government would take “more decisive steps” against Israeli interests, which he called “legitimate targets” in the aftermath of the attack.

Sudan accused Israel of attacking a weapons convoy traveling from Sudan to the Gaza Strip last December and of a similar attack in 2009, as well as targeting a car carrying a high-ranking Hamas official last spring and other targeted attacks on vehicles.

Sudan reportedly is a transit spot for weapons smuggling, particularly to Gaza through Egypt, and a center for al-Qaida terrorists.
 

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