Two experts with extensive knowledge of bombs said the militant leader was likely struck with explosives produced in the US based on CCTV footage
A examination of CCTV depicting the operation and its aftermath suggests that the Israeli raid in Beirut on Friday night that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah most likely involved 2000pound bombs made in the USUsing at least 15 2000pound bombs including the USmade BLU109 the Israeli military said in a video released on Saturday that it carried out the attack using planes Trevor Ball a former senior explosive ordnance technician for the US Army examined the clip for CNN
According to Ball the bombs were also equipped with the USmade Joint Direct Attack Munition JDAM a precision guidance kit that transforms unguided or dumb bombs into smart munitions that can precisely strike a target
The 535 pounds of explosives in the weapons are a lot less than the MK84s another kind of 2000pound bomb
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Getty Images
These bombs are colloquially known as bunker busters because of their ability to penetrate deep underground before detonating Ball recognized at least four of the bombequipped planes in the video as being BLU109s equipped with JDAM kits Ball said that although only the BLU109s were shown in the video other kinds of massive bombs might have been utilized in the operation
The 535 pounds of explosives in the weapons are a lot less than the MK84s another kind of 2000pound bomb that the Israeli military uses a lot BLU109s sacrifice explosive mass in order to outperform an MK84 in target penetration stated Ball
The 535 pounds of explosives in the weapons are a lot less than the MK84s another kind of 2000pound bomb
Image
Getty Images
Geolocated video and pictures from the strike site in the Dahiyeh area of southern Beirut reveal a sizable deeplycarved hole encircled by debris from the demolished buildings Four multistory apartment complexes were confirmed to have been destroyed in the strike by a CNN examination of satellite imagery and video
The New York Times was informed by two senior Israeli defense officials that the attack on Nasrallah involved the use of eighty bombs Ball said that while the number made sense it was hard to determine from the craters existing footage alone
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The crater left behind by the strike was consistent with the use of 2000pound BLU109 bombs
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AFP via Getty Images
Its possible there were more similar craters that the building debris collapsed into and filled Its also unknown how deep and extensive any underground facilities were That makes it extremely difficult to reliably estimate the number of munitions used he said
The Israeli Air Force planes were carrying JDAM guidance kits according to Justin Bronk a senior research fellow for air power and technology at the Royal United Services Institute in London He also examined footage for CNN The crater left behind by the strike was consistent with the use of 2000pound BLU109 bombs
It fits with the strike profile and the penetrating fuze settings and large warhead required to produce that sort of crater Bronk said He added that the combination of BLU109 bomb and JDAM kit were what youd expect for going after a buried hardened target like that
