'Assad transferred chemical weapons to Hezbollah'

'Al-Watan' reports Syrian regime passed non-conventional weapons to the group in 2012, including missiles, mustard gas.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON, JPOST.COM STAFF
Hezbollah militants chant 260 (photo credit: REUTERS/Sharif Karim)
Hezbollah militants chant 260
(photo credit: REUTERS/Sharif Karim)
The Saudi-based newspaper Al-Watan on Thursday reported that the Syrian regime has transferred non-conventional weapons to Hezbollah.
Al-Watan, quoting unnamed sources from the Syrian opposition, reported that Syrian President Bashar Assad has been transferring weapons to Hezbollah since the beginning of 2012, including two tons of mustard gas and long-range missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads and traveling 300 kilometers.
The Syrian opposition sources also claimed that the transfer to Hezbollah lasted 40 days, from mid-February to March 2012, the Saudi daily reported.
The chemical weapons transfer to Hezbollah was carried out under the supervision of a senior Syrian officer of Assad.
The Syrian source said that it observed these transfers since the beginning of last year.
The tankers drove through Damascus, Zabadani, and Serghaya, carrying the chemical weapons in blue barrels labeled "Chlorine Acid." They took the material to "Hezbollah warehouses and delivered it to a person nicknamed "Abu Talal," who was subordinate to the party leadership."
Brigadier Ghassan Abbas oversaw the transfer operation of chemical weapons from the Syrian side.
The report also said that some of the chemical weapons were stored in a warehouse at the Mezze military airport as well as other locations around Syria.