Friend
Professional
- Messages
- 2,653
- Reaction score
- 850
- Points
- 113
On September 17, a series of pager explosions occurred throughout Lebanon.
On September 17, a series of explosions occurred in Lebanon, which shocked not only the country, but also the entire Middle East. Thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah detonated at the same time, killing 11 and wounding about 4,000 people, including many Hezbollah operatives and the Iranian ambassador in Beirut.
A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was behind the operation. The agency, known for its sophisticated operations abroad, allegedly planted explosives in pagers imported by Hezbollah a few months ago. This action was an unprecedented violation of the group's security.
Initially, it was assumed that the devices were manufactured by the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. However, the firm denied this information, saying that the pagers were made by the Hungarian company BAC, which has a license to use their brand.
The address of BAC Consulting in Budapest turned out to be an ordinary residential building in the suburbs, where the company is only registered, but not physically present. The CEO of BAC Consulting, Cristiana Barsoni-Arcidiacono, according to her LinkedIn profile, has worked as a consultant for various organizations, including UNESCO. She did not respond to emails from Reuters. Interestingly, BAC's registered activities cover a wide range of areas: from publishing computer games and IT consulting to crude oil production.
According to a Reuters security source, Hezbollah ordered 5,000 AR-924 pagers, which were delivered to the country at the beginning of the year. The group used these devices as a low-tech communication tool in an attempt to avoid location tracking by Israeli intelligence services.
It is assumed that the Mossad modified the devices "at the production level" by introducing a board with an explosive activated when a certain code is received. Another security source told Reuters that up to three grams of explosives were hidden in each pager, which went unnoticed by Hezbollah for months.
It is also assumed that Israeli intelligence officers intercepted a batch of pagers before they were delivered to Lebanon. By equipping the devices with a small amount of PETN explosives, they made it possible to remotely heat the pager batteries, which led to the explosions. Other sources claim that each pager contained no more than 20 grams of PETN, and the devices were imported into Lebanon five months before the incident.
The bombings dealt a severe blow to Hezbollah, leaving many fighters and civilians injured or killed. One of the official representatives of the organization called the incident "the largest security breach" in the history of the group.
Earlier, on February 13, according to Reuters, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned supporters in a televised address about the dangers of using phones, saying they were more dangerous than Israeli spies. Instead, the group decided to distribute pagers to its members in a variety of units, from fighters to medics.
The explosions caused numerous injuries to Hezbollah members. According to footage from hospitals viewed by Reuters, the wounded had injuries of varying severity - from facial injuries to missing fingers and serious wounds in the thigh area, where pagers were likely worn.
Source
On September 17, a series of explosions occurred in Lebanon, which shocked not only the country, but also the entire Middle East. Thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah detonated at the same time, killing 11 and wounding about 4,000 people, including many Hezbollah operatives and the Iranian ambassador in Beirut.
A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was behind the operation. The agency, known for its sophisticated operations abroad, allegedly planted explosives in pagers imported by Hezbollah a few months ago. This action was an unprecedented violation of the group's security.
Initially, it was assumed that the devices were manufactured by the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. However, the firm denied this information, saying that the pagers were made by the Hungarian company BAC, which has a license to use their brand.
The address of BAC Consulting in Budapest turned out to be an ordinary residential building in the suburbs, where the company is only registered, but not physically present. The CEO of BAC Consulting, Cristiana Barsoni-Arcidiacono, according to her LinkedIn profile, has worked as a consultant for various organizations, including UNESCO. She did not respond to emails from Reuters. Interestingly, BAC's registered activities cover a wide range of areas: from publishing computer games and IT consulting to crude oil production.
According to a Reuters security source, Hezbollah ordered 5,000 AR-924 pagers, which were delivered to the country at the beginning of the year. The group used these devices as a low-tech communication tool in an attempt to avoid location tracking by Israeli intelligence services.
It is assumed that the Mossad modified the devices "at the production level" by introducing a board with an explosive activated when a certain code is received. Another security source told Reuters that up to three grams of explosives were hidden in each pager, which went unnoticed by Hezbollah for months.
It is also assumed that Israeli intelligence officers intercepted a batch of pagers before they were delivered to Lebanon. By equipping the devices with a small amount of PETN explosives, they made it possible to remotely heat the pager batteries, which led to the explosions. Other sources claim that each pager contained no more than 20 grams of PETN, and the devices were imported into Lebanon five months before the incident.
The bombings dealt a severe blow to Hezbollah, leaving many fighters and civilians injured or killed. One of the official representatives of the organization called the incident "the largest security breach" in the history of the group.
Earlier, on February 13, according to Reuters, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned supporters in a televised address about the dangers of using phones, saying they were more dangerous than Israeli spies. Instead, the group decided to distribute pagers to its members in a variety of units, from fighters to medics.
The explosions caused numerous injuries to Hezbollah members. According to footage from hospitals viewed by Reuters, the wounded had injuries of varying severity - from facial injuries to missing fingers and serious wounds in the thigh area, where pagers were likely worn.
Source
