Israeli warplanes bombed a convoy of trucks in Sudan in January that was believed to be carrying arms to be smuggled into Gaza, according to American officials. The American officials who described the Israeli role declined to be identified because they were discussing classified information and were not authorized to speak for the Obama administration. One American military official said the January strike was one of a series of Israeli attacks against arms shipments bound for Gaza. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel would not comment on the reports. But outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday hinted Israel had carried out the strikes. “We operate everywhere where we can hit terror infrastructure,” he said in a speech, without directly mentioning Sudan. A senior Sudanese official noted the American denials, and said Khartoum suspects Israel in the attack. The official spoke on condition of anonymity didn't elaborate on Israeli involvement. Sudan's army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Osman Al-Aghbash, said the Sudanese Foreign Ministry had been in contact with Egypt and “all the concerned parties” about the strikes. But he refused to lay blame. Although the airstrike was carried out two months ago, it was not publicized until Sudanese officials said Thursday that a convoy of trucks in the remote eastern part of Sudan was bombed by what they called “American fighters,” killing dozens. The strikes were first reported on several Internet-based news sites, including cbsnews.com. The area where the Sudanese said the attack occurred, near Port Sudan on the Red Sea, is an isolated patch of eastern Sudan near the Egyptian border and a notorious smuggling route, populated mostly by nomads and known as one of the poorest, least developed parts of a very poor country.
