HAMA, SYRIA – Syrian security forces discovered a large weapons storage cell in the northern countryside of Hama containing 45 French-manufactured 68mm SNEB rockets along with hundreds of French 81mm mortar shells.

The projectiles were captured in the vicinity of Ma’an, an Alawite town that was recaptured from the jihadist forces several weeks ago. The aforementioned town was emptied back in 2014 when rebel forces committed a huge massacre against the town’s minority population.

The Syrian Army is still excavating the area around Ma’am hoping to find more concealed storage cells and hideouts.

Izat Charkatli | AMN
Izat Charkatli | AMN
Izat Charkatli | AMN
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18 COMMENTS

    • The SNEB is a air to surface missile for helicopters and aircraft, why would france support the rebbels with ATS weapons when they dont have an airforce, Probleby raded from syrian or other foreign storage facilities in the beginning of the war.

      • Here we go again with a quick Hasbara “damage continment” post from pietsman, but hey!!! do not despair I am always happy to bust hasbara agents, so the real explanation is, unguided air to surface missiles can easily be fired from its original pods or from makeshift pods placed on techicals or on the ground as evidenced by pictures and videos from Lybian war and Syrian war

        • But than again, why would they supply ATS missile and not just more normal missiles or mortar round.

          Dont forget that France was a supplier to the Syrian army before the war and munition/rockets etc are still around from before that time. They were probably taken at the beginning of the war and buried because they were not able to use them or had sufficient stock of more campatible rockets availble.

          Every time a western or US made millitary exuipment is found there are automaticly fingers to the west of US with tekst like “They are supplying the millitants against Assad” and any other possible reasons are ignored or marked as damage control/ propaganda. They just want to blame it on someone that fits their own believes even if its not the truth.

          • Thnks to both of You I had the same questions about the nature of the air missile shells.

          • If you study the photos, these are old stock manufactured in 1978. NATO is holding a clearance sale and it makes the arms manufacturers happy because they have to make new stock to replace them with new rockets for NATO. This way NATO gets new ammunition stocks, Rebels get what they want and Saudi Arabia pays the bill.

            SNEB rockets can easily be fired from simple home made mortars as home made artillery. Their warheads can include Fletchettes which are designed to rain down slicing and cutting people out in the open without discrimination between civilians or fighting troops.

          • Thx Sy for the info about details in the pics. p.s. Yes all wars and sales make producers happy.

    • Replenishing old stock, 1978 manufacture. The SNEB rockets have yellow bands denoting High Explosive warheads. The 81mm Mortar rounds are all High Explosive from their markings.

      I expect these were from French arms sales made to Saudi Arabia. In November 2015 alone, French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls secured arms sales to saudi Arabia of $11.1 billion and in 2016 more orders worth $3.3 billion. Since 2009 France has been involved in arms sales to Saudi Arabia worth $25 Billion.

  2. Hopefully, these are useless for the so-called “moderate rebels”!
    SNEB is an Air-to-Ground rocket, these probably come from SyAAF as they’re in use for theFrench-made Gazelle choppers. The mortar shells are the HE for the MO81 LLR. Hopefully, I’ve never seen the roaches with these : most of the time, you’ll see ’em with the Russian 82mm and if not, it may be the US/Brit M252 or Brit L16 and these are not really compatible. These have probably been seized from YPG or Peshmergas as I’ve already seen them using the MO81 or the German mortar (well, I’m not sure but usually, you can use ammos are shared between french and german gear).
    SNEB had a very interesting supersonic pod in use on old mirages, Jaguar, BAe Lightning :
    http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss337/ScaleWorx/PICS028.jpg
    Nonetheless it was a rocket pod but also a 268L aux-tank.

  4. So far it has been confirmed that NATO countries including the United States, Germany, Bulgaria & France have exported arms to these terrorist groups. The Russian & Syrian Governments should draw worldwide attention to this fact by filing a complaint to the UN Security Council about state sponsorship of terrorism by through weapon sales.

    Of course it will be vetoed but the point of that exercise is to publicly single out nations sponsoring war in Syria. Let the nations actually backing this war embarrass themselves by refusal to support a resolution.

    • Please point at the sources that make You think Germany was in it. German export restrictions are among the strictest worldwide. Do not just include Germany without definitive proof. You may not like us but be fair. p.s. AFAIK The paths go from the poorer Eastern EC to Jordan and Turkey. The ultimate buyers are Arab sheiks. The US services facilitate and help the trades. German arms producer firms have to engage in disadvantageous partnerships with French and British … firms to avoid German legal export restrictions. Even with German tech the source is usually outside German jurisdiction.

      • Leave Germany out. We did not participate in Libya, Iraq or Syria. Unlike the UK and France. That still think themselves as mighty. p.s. The UK is even one of the 5 eyes coterie – of the small English speaking helpers of the Manifest Destiny empire.