Could be a translation issue. You've got a Syrian reporter talking to Egyptian sailors in Lebanon, going into an English news report.
"Barge" may not be the most accurate version of their story.
Posted on 07/15/2006 5:54:55 PM PDT by Dallas59
Tartous, Syrian coast, July 15 (SANA)-
Twelve Egyptian sailors have been rescued and taken to al-Bassel Hospital in the Syrian coastal city of Tartous on Saturday after their ship which was in offshore Beirut in the Lebanese international waters was fired at, set ablaze by an Israeli barge that was firing at random in all directions.
The Egyptian survivors said they sent a distress call via the satellites Friday night. They were rescued by two Syrian and Egyptian ships who were sailing in the area towards the Syrian coast, definitely to Tartous seaport.
Director General of al-Bassel Hospital Dr. Talal Hamdan said the sailors were medically treated and they were now in stable, good health except one whose injury was serious.
The Egyptian vessel was carrying cement when it came under fire 65 km from the Lebanese coast in an area between Beirut and Tripoli.
Ahmad F. ZAHRA
Thus must be the ship that was hit by an "over" missile fired by Hizbullah and/or Iranian revolutionary guards.
If you're dumb enough to accept that anyone could or would mount phalanx on a barge... yeah.
That's some Nice Spin There!!!!!!, Where's Bubba?
Well there must have been two merchant ships which got hit and both just happened to take 12 casualties who were Egyptian. I mean, the Syrians wouldn't lie to us would they? /s
Could be a translation issue. You've got a Syrian reporter talking to Egyptian sailors in Lebanon, going into an English news report.
"Barge" may not be the most accurate version of their story.
It seems the Phalanx was turned off.
Brigadier-General Noam Page of the Navy said in a press conference Saturday that the Navy was unaware that a missile threat existed in the sector, and that the boat's crew had acted accordingly.
Missile boats are equipped with a missile interception system capable of automatically intercepting any missile or aircraft approaching it. However, as the boat was operating in an area where a large number of IDF planes were present, the Navy had refrained from activating the system.
Navy sources said that had they known the Hizbullah was in possession of missiles of the type used against the boat Saturday, the missile interception system would have been turned on.
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