Israel Provides Satellite Imagery of Islamic State Positions

Israel Provides Satellite Imagery of Islamic State Positions

Israel is supplying satellite photos as part of an omnibus intelligence package to assist in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, a Western diplomat told Reuters on Monday.

Israel’s spy satellites reportedly are located in a position to receive both angles and frequencies that are beyond the capabilities of the United States’ satellites. The diplomat said that thanks to Israel, the Pentagon can now “fill out its information and get a better battle damage assessments” to determine the aftermath of U.S. air strikes. “The Israelis are very good with passenger data and with analyzing social media in Arabic to get a better idea of who these people are,” he added.

The information is then sent from the U.S. to its Arab and Turkish allies. However, the original Hebrew is “scrubbed out” from the intelligence package so as not to ruffle the feathers of Israel’s adversaries, the source claimed.

Israel Defense Ministry spokesman Yaacov Havakook said Israel has a strict policy not to confirm nor deny instances of its nature. “We don’t comment on any assistance by us, or if there is such assistance, in the fight against ISIS,” said the spokesperson.

Over the weekend, Israeli troops saved an Irish UN observer force deployed in the Golan Heights from being abducted by Islamist groups, possibly Al Nusra or Islamic State forces, Ireland’s Sunday Independent news reported. The paper said that “Irish soldiers would have been killed or taken hostage by Islamist extremists if it wasn’t for the military intervention of the Israeli army during last week’s battle to save besieged UN soldiers.” IDF soldiers reportedly took “decisive action and guided the Irish troops to safety while directing covering fire at the Islamist entities.

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