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Hezbollah is building a fortified base in Syria, the global intelligence company Stratfor reported.
The site lies near the border city of Qusayr, which Hezbollah, along with the Assad forces and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), captured in June 2013, Foundation for Defense of Democracies reported.
“According to one source close to Hezbollah, the group intends to stockpile artillery weapons [there],” Stratfordreported. “It also plans to move some of its approximately 60 T-72 main battle tanks there.”
Stratfor added that the base, which is already a hub of IRGC activity, “could also serve as a location for interaction and training between IRGC and Hezbollah operatives,” noting that Hezbollah has dug tunnels between the site and Lebanon.
Last year IHS Jane’s reported that Hezbollah appeared to be building a drone base across the border from Qusayr in Lebanon, The Tower reported.
Hezbollah has also been busy building up its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon, mostly within civilian areas. At a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing last month, Foundation for Defense of Democracies research fellow Tony Badran said that in building this infrastructure, “Hezbollah has essentially painted a big target on the back of all of Lebanon.”
