Syrian rebels have been pictured with a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile, indicating they have for the first time the ability to challenge the Assad regime’s complete control of the skies.
The image, which was published on the website of an Aleppo-based brigade of the Free Syrian Army this afternoon, shows a rebel carrying what appears to be a complete and operational SAM-7 missile system.
It follows unconfirmed reports last week that rebels had obtained as many as two dozen portable missiles.
Rebel sources told The Times that the man holding the weapon was a member of the Al-Tawhid Brigade in the town of Tal Rifat, close to Aleppo.
Syrian government aircraft and fearsome Mil Mi24 helicopter gunships - known as ‘The Flying Tank’ - have been