Washington Post reports that Israeli army possibly dropped heavy US bombs in attack that razed buildings in Beirut.Israel likely used United States-made 900kg (2,000-pound) bombs in the strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and levelled residential buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier this week, The Washington Post reports.
Citing three experts who analysed videos of Friday’s strikes, posted by the Israeli Air Force, the Post said on Sunday that at least some of the bombs were US-made “BLU-109s and JDAM guidance kits”.
BLU-109s are bunker-buster heavy bombs and JDAM kits are guidance systems that attach to munitions to help attack a specific target.
A 2,000-pound bomb has a destruction radius of 35 metres (115 feet), according to the Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA), which conducts defence policy research and analysis.
Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longtime chief, was killed in Friday’s strike on the group’s underground headquarters. Israel dropped what local media said were “bunker-busting” bombs and flattened about six buildings, while trying to kill Nasrallah.
The attack also devastated the entire neighbourhood, turning several apartment buildings into rubble.
The Washington Post quoted NR Jenzen-Jones, the director of Armament Research Services – a group providing analysis on arms and munitions – as saying that “initial available videos of the strike show that numerous large air-delivered bombs were used”. He added that they were meant to penetrate through a “heavily protected space”.
US officials have repeatedly said that they received no prior notice abou …