Explosive Iranian drones would be used in north-western Syria against rebel positions. The use of kamikaze UAVs has been confirmed by Syrian government media.
The attack would have taken place last Monday, in the rural areas of Idlib, against the group's positions Ahrar al-Sham, organization of Sunni Islamic militants formed in the 2011 to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. Five drones were used in the attack. Affected the main base of the group Ahrar al-Sham, in the city of Ma'ar Shimmareen, in the province of Ma'aret Nuaman. The attack was confirmed by the spokesman of the rebel group.
According to the group Ahrar al-Sham, the destructive force of a single drone is equal to a mortar strike from 82mm, but with a higher fragmentation rate. It is likely to assume that Iran, in its vast weapons program, has concentrated over the years on the development of kamikaze drones, capable of destroying sensitive, heavily armored targets (such as tanks) and low-flying helicopters.
The Radd-85 drone, similar to a small cruise missile and designed by Research and Self-sufficiency Jihad Organization, was developed for the Iranian army. It is a "suicide drone" controlled remotely by an operator. After identifying the target, the drone hurls itself at the target, detonating its warhead. Presented as a "mobile bomb-like drone", it dissociates itself from the reference doctrine for the use of armed drones like the Reaper. It is designed to be used in an electronically protected environment and is able to carry a variety of warheads to fit the required mission profile.
'Kamikaze' variant based on the Iranian drone M2, shares some technical aspects of theAbabil-2. It should have a range between the 150 and the 200 km, so well above the Mohajer-2. The Raad-85, produced by Qods Company, was tested last year during an exercise in the Strait of Hormuz against naval targets. It would be correct to say that the Iranian military program in the development of UAVs, in the last ten years, could be second only to that of the USA.
Il group Ahrar al-Sham
Ahrar al-sham (also known as "Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya", Islamic Movement of Free Men of the Levant) is one of the most important groups of the Islamic Front, a Sunni organization that fights Assad and aims to create an Islamic government. The group was created at the end of the 2011 by former political prisoners of the Damascus government. Released with a presidential amnesty, an unsuccessful attempt to appease the religious protesters in the middle of the Arab spring, they settled in Idlib. Quickly becoming one of the largest military organizations operating in Syria, it concentrated its efforts to unite the Islamist opposition under a single flag. From the 2011 to the 2013 the group collaborated with the front al-Nusra Front. He is now considered close to the Islamic State, although he does not share the strict imposition of the Shariah.
The group Ahrar al-Sham it is considered the moderate alternative among the most powerful militant groups active in Syria.
