The Israeli Ministry of Defense has released details — and imagery — of a dramatic commando raid into Syria, which targeted an underground missile production facility, back in September. The raid, codenamed Operation Many Ways, was deemed an outstanding success, with the facility destroyed and none of the 120 Israeli special forces troops involved being injured. Until now, however, very few details of how the raid took place had emerged.

The raid was carried out on Sept. 8 by members of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), specifically its elite Shaldag unit and Unit 669. Shaldag is a clandestine outfit that specializes in long-range penetration operations, including commando-style raids. Unit 669 is tasked primarily with combat search and rescue (CSAR), a key requirement of missions carried out in or close to hostile territory.

...

What the Israeli Ministry of Defense described as “precision-guided missiles” and long-range rockets were planned to be made at the facility and then supplied to Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as to the Assad regime in Syria. In terms of Iranian support for Hezbollah, Deep Layer was Iran’s “flagship project,” according to the IDF.

...

Fitting its name, Deep Layer was located deep underground, buried within a mountain in the Masyaf area of Syria, west of Hama. Reportedly situated between 230 and 430 feet below ground, the facility was considered more or less impregnable by IAF airstrikes. But destroying it using a commando raid was also a huge challenge since its location was more than 124 miles north of the Israeli border, and around 28 miles from Syria’s western coastline.