Yasin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Yasin (disambiguation).
The Yasin (Arabic: ياسين ) anti-tank rocket launcher is a weapon developed by Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, named after the group's spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on March 22, 2004. Apparently first used during the battle of Jabalya in October 2004, the Yasin was reportedly developed by Hamas' engineers under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul, assassinated in Gaza by the Israeli military on October 22, 2004.
At the end of 2005, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades released a video providing insights about the production of the Yasin antitank rocket launcher. The projectile is manufactured in two parts: the propeller is assembled in a cylindric tube, containing a solid fuel, and the head of the projectile is essentially made of metal, containing a yellow liquid explosive made from various chemicals. Folding wings are then added to the propeller and coated with a plastic envelope so that they will unfold upon firing of the rocket. The head of the projectile is then assembled with the propeller and a safety pin is added. The whole process is made with basic installations in metal workshops using rudimentary tools, but the conception and engineering of the weapon seems to attain a high degree of sophistication and professionalism given the means used. The launching tube is also manufactured by the so-called "production units" of the brigades, using roughly the model of the RPG-7 Russian rocket launcher.
The efficiency of the weapon was demonstrated in the video, and the rocket seems to concentrate its impact on a very limited surface, thus making it able to pierce a thick brick wall without difficulty, and inflict limited damage to a 2-inch (51mm) metal plate. Therefore, it is unlikely that this type of rocket could actually significatively damage an Israeli Merkava tank or Armoured Personnel Carrier, often targets of attacks by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
On June 19, 2005, an Israeli soldier was killed in the Gaza Strip by a rocket of this type near Rafah, and on October 2, 2005, a confrontation between Hamas and the Palestinian Police led to the death of the police commander of the Shati refugee camp in Gaza after a Yasin rocket struck the room were he was taking cover. Following the 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip by Israel and the ensuing temporary truce observed by Hamas, it is widely believed that an amount of up to several thousands of Yasin projectiles were manufactured and stocked by Hamas by the end of that year. Israeli officials also expressed concerns over the fact that Hamas is trying to transfer knowledge and technology to make those rockets to its cells in the West Bank. On June 25, 2006, a number of Yasin rockets were used in the attack of an Israeli tank near the Gaza Strip border, resulting in the death of 2 soldiers, the injury of another, and the subsequent kidnapping of another.
The Yasin RPG recently (May 9, 2006) appeared and was mentioned by name on an episode of PBS TV's Frontline program.
