The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used at least 15 US-made BLU-109 bombs with JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) guidance kits to kill Hezbollah chief, Hasaan Nasrallah, a report in the New York Times has claimed. The 2,000-pound munitions are popularly known as bunker-busters thanks to their ability to penetrate underground.
The claim was based on the analysis of a video published by the Israeli military on Telegram where F-15i fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force’s 69th Squadron were seen taking off from the Hatzerim Airbase to carry out Nasrallah’s assassination.
The BLU-109 bombs are identifiable when the video shows two planes taking off, with one plane carrying six of those munitions. Then the video shows a plane returning at dusk to the Israeli air base without any bombs.
Notably, JDAM is a guidance tail kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into accurate warheads that can operate in any weather conditions. It also enables employment of accurate air-to-surface weapons against high-priority fixed and relocatable targets from fighter and bomber aircraft.
Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician stated that the explosions as well as the damage caused in the populated southern suburbs of Beirut were consistent with the 2,000-pound bombs carried by the Israeli jets in the video.
Senior Israeli defence officials confirmed that more than 80 bombs were dropped within a few minutes to kill Nasrallah and his aides.
Nasrallah killed
On Saturday (Sep 28), the Israeli military said that Nasrallah was eliminated during Friday’s strikes which targeted the suburbs of Beirut. The militant outfit also confirmed the death of its leader later in the day which means that the entire chain of command of Hezbollah has been killed in the span of less than two weeks.
Nasrallah had led the Lebanon-based militant group for the last three decades. Under his tenure, Hezbollah became part of a cluster of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the Axis of Resistance
Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that he had given the directive to neutralise Nasrallah as Hezbollah would have regenerated if he was allowed to live.
“He would have quickly rehabilitated Hezbollah’s capabilities. So I gave the order and Nasrallah is no longer with us,” said Netanyahu.
Netanyahu also shot off a warning to Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar who appears to be the last big name remaining in the Gaza Strip after his predecessors as well as allies were killed by Tel Aviv.
Source: wionews
