Preacherman
Member
From the Telegraph, London (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...id23.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/09/23/ixworld.html):
Israel uses Russian snipers on West Bank
By David Blair in Jerusalem
(Filed: 23/09/2003)
Veterans of Russia's campaign in Chechnya are serving in the Israeli army as highly trained snipers in the West Bank and Gaza.
Russian immigrants fill the ranks of a specialist sniper unit known as the Aliya (Immigration) brigade, the army confirmed yesterday following a report in the newspaper Ha'aretz.
Sharpshooters with experience in Chechnya have been concealed at vulnerable points where Israel is open to infiltration from the occupied territories.
A security official told Ha'aretz that the men were deployed to reinforce the defences of "weak points" in the occupied territories.
Influenced by the mystique gained by snipers on the eastern front during the Second World War, the Russian army gives them specialist training lasting for a year. By contrast, the Israeli defence forces' sniping course is only five weeks long.
This makes the Russian snipers, especially those with combat experience in Chechnya, highly prized. Most are believed to have fought in Russia's offensive against Chechen separatists between 1994 until 1996.
The security official said they had "more patience" and better technical skills than their counterparts trained in Israel.
Most snipers are armed with Barrett .50 calibre semi-automatic rifles, accurate to a range exceeding 1,000 yards.
Since the Palestinian intifada began three years ago, Israeli snipers have acquired a psychological significance out of proportion to their numbers. They have been crucial to maintaining the siege on Yasser Arafat's Muqata compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Israel uses Russian snipers on West Bank
By David Blair in Jerusalem
(Filed: 23/09/2003)
Veterans of Russia's campaign in Chechnya are serving in the Israeli army as highly trained snipers in the West Bank and Gaza.
Russian immigrants fill the ranks of a specialist sniper unit known as the Aliya (Immigration) brigade, the army confirmed yesterday following a report in the newspaper Ha'aretz.
Sharpshooters with experience in Chechnya have been concealed at vulnerable points where Israel is open to infiltration from the occupied territories.
A security official told Ha'aretz that the men were deployed to reinforce the defences of "weak points" in the occupied territories.
Influenced by the mystique gained by snipers on the eastern front during the Second World War, the Russian army gives them specialist training lasting for a year. By contrast, the Israeli defence forces' sniping course is only five weeks long.
This makes the Russian snipers, especially those with combat experience in Chechnya, highly prized. Most are believed to have fought in Russia's offensive against Chechen separatists between 1994 until 1996.
The security official said they had "more patience" and better technical skills than their counterparts trained in Israel.
Most snipers are armed with Barrett .50 calibre semi-automatic rifles, accurate to a range exceeding 1,000 yards.
Since the Palestinian intifada began three years ago, Israeli snipers have acquired a psychological significance out of proportion to their numbers. They have been crucial to maintaining the siege on Yasser Arafat's Muqata compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
