Satellite images suggest airstrike on Sudan site

Satellite images of the Yarmouk military complex in Khartoum, Sudan are seen, comparing a picture made on Oct. 12, 2012 with one made on Oct. 25, after a explosion ripped through the site. A U.S. monitoring group says these satellite images revealing several 52-foot wide craters suggest the site was hit by an airstrike. The Sudanese government has accused Israel of bombing its complex. / AP/DigitalGlobe via Satellite Sentinel Project

CAIRO A U.S. monitoring group says satellite images of the aftermath of an explosion at a Sudanese weapons factory suggest the site was hit by an airstrike.

The Sudanese government has accused Israel of bombing its Yarmouk military complex in Khartoum, killing two people and leaving the factory in ruins.

The images released by the Satellite Sentinel Project to The Associated Press on Saturday showed several 52-foot wide craters.

A spokesman for the project, Jonathan Hutson, said military experts found the craters to be "consistent with large impact craters created by air-delivered munitions."

Israeli officials have neither confirmed nor denied striking the site, instead accusing Sudan of playing a role in an Iranian-backed network of arms shipments to Hamas and Hezbollah.

[molecular77]

My question is how would Israel do this? It's significantly outside of the ferry range of their F-16s. This is the same reason that they've been hesitant about an airstrike against Iran. From my admittedly limited knowledge, Israel has limited to negligible air to air refueling capabilities, so if they did this, they wouldn't be acting alone. Someone either gave them an airbase to refuel at or the US provided air to air refueling support.

[molecular77]

Or, it wasn't Israel. Those are the only two conclusions.

[Bleddyn71]

F15s with conformal tanks and three drop tanks have a range of 3000 nautical miles. And they have 707 refuelers.... I think they could have executed such a raid... Entebbe & Osarik shows they will get things done.

[BUDDYofPA]

Colt you are as Fd up as your name. We need modern technology not dollars pissed into defense contractors CEO pocket books!!!

and PourpaixPourpaix you are just a stupid as colt

[gadfly65]

This is the kind of sudden, limited-engagement combat that succeeds in modern conflict; Mitt Romney would have our military try to wage war in the style the last century with more naval vessels and such.

[Colt4542]

The most effective way to strike a remote site from the air is with carrier based planes. And carriers require a support group. Read that as "more ships". Mitt is right on to say the Navy needs to be the best in the world.