The photos we are providing – if confirmed – reinforce the scenario that Haniya may have been killed by one or two guided missiles, which hit the apartment on the fourth floor of a building in a complex in northern Tehran. Which is said to be an installation of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, i.e. the arm of operations outside Iranian territory.
Some sources refer to the complex as “veterans housing”, but others identify it as the location of one of the sector’s headquarters, with buildings within a guarded perimeter housing its executives as well as foreign partners and officials.
From the photo, if it is verified that it does show the spot where Haniya died, it is clear that the extent of the damage does not reflect the use of an aerial weapon, such as a long-range guided missile, which – as we have seen in other cases – causes a lot greater damage. But the image is more consistent with a missile strike of the SPIKE family category.
The possible use of SPIKE NLOS has been mentioned, a system that offers a range of over 30 km and the advantage that the operator can acquire an image through the camera on the warhead, marking and targeting from that distance. On the other hand the 70+ kg SPIKE NLOS is a mounted weapon and transporting it in a different way is not easy.
Of course, an operation by Israeli special forces in which a helicopter infiltrated into Iranian territory, transporting a special operations team in some kind of vehicle, cannot be ruled out.
Israeli units of this category constantly conduct infiltration exercises, mainly with CH-53 Yas’ur heavy helicopters. Such exercises have been carried out in Romania, Greece and Cyprus (for the diversity of the environment) among other countries.
The SPIKE NLOS is not the only option from the respective family, however, from which other man-portable missiles could be used.
Of course, the scenario of using an unmanned strike aircraft of the roving munitions category, which is a load specially designed to be carried by personnel and can offer an attack from a long distance, again with an image transferred to the operator, is also “open”.
