An Al-Qaeda missile manual found in Mali suggests jihadists in the region may possess the SA-7 surface-to-air missiles, capable of taking down commercial aircraft, AP reports. The arms are suspected to have been looted from Libya during the recent war.
The 26-page document that AP obtained was recovered from the
building that was previously occupied by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM) in Timbuktu. It is also evidence of militant
groups actively training its fighters to use the so-called
man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS.
"Why else bother to write the guide if you don't have the
weapons? ... If AQIM not only has the MANPADS, but also fighters
who know how to use them effectively," AP cited Atlantic
Council analyst Peter Pham, a former adviser to the United
States' military command in Africa and an instructor to US
Special Forces as saying.
According to residents, prior to fleeing Timbuktu ahead of French
troops’ interference in January, the jihadists attempted to get
rid of the paper apparently setting it on fire. However they
failed to destroy it completely.
Remaining pages 313 through 338 of the manual to MANPADS contain
step-by-step instructions and tips on how to use the weapon, aim
the target and change the battery. It is also illustrated
with images of soldiers firing the hardware, which takes training
and skill to use.
"This is not a 'Fire and forget' weapon," Bruce Hoffman,
director of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown
University told AP. "There's a paradox here. One the one hand
it's not easy to use, but against any commercial aircraft there
would be no defenses against them. If terrorists start training
and learn how to use them, we'll be in a lot of trouble.”
Another arms expert, N.R. Jenzen-Jones, confirmed that the
information on the missile's engagement range, altitude and
weight appeared largely correct.
It’s not only the manual that suggests that Al-Qaeda fighters
have been thoroughly trained to use MANPADS.
Locals have told AP they saw foreign fighters running laps each day, carrying out target practice and inhaling and holding their breath with a pipe-like object on their shoulder.
The SA-7 surface-to-air missile, known to the Pentagon as the GRAIL, was developed in the USSR in the 1960s. As it was initially designed to be portable, the weapon is the size of a poster tube. The missile weighs about 13 kilograms and is about 1.50 meters long. It can be fired from the shoulder.
Those witness accounts could be backed by French forces’ findings
during their ground operation in Mali earlier this year, which
included elements of SA-7s, such as battery packs, launch tubes,
according to unnamed aviation official AP talked to.
It has been suggested that SA-7 drills have been part of the
curriculum at ‘Jihad Academy’ that, according to one of the
experts who examined the manual, was located in a former police
station, some five kilometers away from the Ministry of Finance’s
Budget Division building, where the document was found.
The US has long been concerned about surface-to-air missiles
falling in the hands of Al-Qaeda fighters. Worries have been
voiced especially loud after many of Gaddafi’s stockpiles in
Libya were found looted.
Once launched, an SA-7 directs itself toward the source of the
heat, the engine. While many military planes are equipped with
anti-missile protection mechanism, civilian aviation and
commercial flights are at risk.
“If someone manages to take down a civilian aircraft, it's
hundreds of dead instantly. It's a high impact, low-frequency
event, and it shows a lot of fear," expert N.R. Jenzen-Jones
said.
According to the US Department of State, since 1975, at least 40
civilian aircraft have been hit by different types of MANPADS,
causing about 28 crashes and more than 800 deaths around the
world.
French forces - which due to the the possibility that SA-7s might
have fallen in hands of jihadists, had to change the way they
carry their offensive in Mali - continue monitoring the region.
According to French aviation officials, who declined to be named,
surveillance at Mali’s airport is being conducted constantly.
"There are patrols every day," AP quoted a French officer as
saying. "It's one of the things we have not entrusted to the
Malians, because the stakes are too high."