Russian made SA-24 Igla-S missiles were stolen from Tripoli weapons warehouse 0809111

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Defense News - Libya

 
 

Thursday, September 8, 2011, 09:46 AM

 

Russian made SA-24 Igla-S missiles were stolen from Tripoli weapons warehouse.

A potent stash of Russian-made surface-to-air missiles is missing from a huge Tripoli weapons warehouse amid reports of weapons looting across war-torn Libya. Russian made anti-aircraft missiles SA-24 Iglas-S would have disappeared from these weapons warehouse.
     

A potent stash of Russian-made surface-to-air missiles is missing from a huge Tripoli weapons warehouse amid reports of weapons looting across war-torn Libya. Russian made anti-aircraft missiles SA-24 Iglas-S would have disappeared from these weapons warehouse.
Latest generation of portable air defense missile system mounted on Strelets set used by the Libyan armed forces during the combat against the Libyan rebels. The Strelets is designed for remote automated firing of the 9K338 Igla-S SA-24 Grinch and Igla surface-to-air missile.

     

A CNN team and Human Rights Watch found dozens of empty crates marked with packing lists and inventory numbers that identified the items as Igla-S surface-to-air missiles.

The list for one box, for example, written in English and Russian, said it had contained two missiles, with inventory number "Missile 9M342," and a power source, inventory number "Article 9B238."

Fighters aligned with the National Transitional Council and others swiped armaments from the storage facility, witnesses told Human Rights Watch. The warehouse is located near a base of the Khamis Brigade, a special forces unit in Gadhafi's military, in the southeastern part of the capital.

The warehouse contains mortars and artillery rounds, but there are empty crates for those items as well. There are also empty boxes for another surface-to-air missile, the SA-7.

This type of missile could interested international terrorists or countries wishing to acquire weapons illegally.