Security has been tightened at a Saudi Arabian air base used by U.S. planes after the mysterious discovery of an empty tube from a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile, Pentagon officials said.
Earlier this week, Saudi security guards at Prince Sultan Air Base found the 4-foot-long launcher for a Soviet-made SA-7 missile, said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. The tube was located about three kilometers from the nearest runway, inside the base's outer perimeter fence and near an inner fence, Quigley said Friday.
A cover on the front of the launch tube was intact, but there were scorch marks on the back of the tube, indicating it could have been used to fire or try to fire a missile, Quigley was quoted as saying by AP.
The discovery has U.S. military officials puzzled and worried. No pilots reported seeing, hearing or detecting any missiles fired, and Quigley stated he had no reports of any threats against the air base.
About 4,500 U.S. troops and an unspecified number of American warplanes use the base in the Saudi desert. "Right now it's a mystery about what it all means, whether it was used or meant to be used," said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Lapan.
Someone firing an SA-7 from the spot where the tube was found could possibly have hit a plane taking off or landing at the air base, Quigley said. Various versions of the missile can hit planes up to about 5.5 kilometers away.
"It's not an ideal spot to put yourself if you wanted to shoot down a plane. You could do better," Quigley said. "It's hard to know what to make of it."
Quigley added he did not know what day Saudi forces found the missile tube. He said Saudi forces photographed the tube and destroyed it before U.S. officials could examine it. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
