A LAUNCH pad disaster meant Iran’s missile blitz killed more of its own soldiers than Israelis, The Sun has been told.
Sources reported at least one unexplained blast at a military research base in Karaj, west of capital Tehran.
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Word then spread that at least two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps troops were killed and 12 injured.
A female witness, who cannot be identified for fear of reprisals, said: “It did not sound loud like a warhead explosion, it sounded like it malfunctioned somehow.”
The muffled thud was said to have shaken buildings, sending locals rushing into the streets as streaks of flame soared upwards.
Unverified claims suggested as many as five militia had been killed by the misfiring 22.5-tonne Sejil ballistic missile.
Iran has not commented.
But Israel Defence Forces say ground-to-air defences intercepted nearly all the 181 missiles fired on Tuesday night.
They confirmed Iran’s £230million operation killed no Israeli, with the only death being of a Palestinian crushed by a missile casing in Jericho.
Israel later claimed to have “eliminated” Hezbollah chief Khider Al Shaebia, who ordered the July strike that killed 12 kids playing football in the Golan Heights.
The terrorist group is still mourning the assassination of boss Hassan Nasrallah.
Meanwhile thousands of defiant Israeli families flocked to Tel Aviv’s seafront as they celebrated Jewish New Year.
Estate agent Adi Shemer, 30, said: “We carry on as normal because we won’t be intimidated. That’s the Israeli way.”
IDF bosses are now planning on hitting back with attacks on Iran’s oil plants and rigs — devastating the country’s economy.
PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his military advisers also believe there may never be a better moment to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons plans.
The regime’s scientists are already known to be enriching uranium and could be just months from acquiring an atomic warhead.
Israel’s war against Iran-backed Hezbollah continued last night with an air strike on an intelligence HQ in a Beirut apartment building.
At least six people died.
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150 Brits get out
MORE than 150 Britons left Beirut yesterday on the first UK Government-chartered plane.
There are concerns about how long the Lebanese capital’s airport will remain open as Israel continues its offensive against Hezbollah.
The Foreign Office said a limited number of additional flights had been chartered.
Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines also continues to operate its scheduled services.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “I urge all British nationals still in Lebanon to register with the FCDO and leave immediately.”
Terror thug dead
By Nick Parker
A NOTORIOUS terrorist known for celebrating his part in the murders of two Israeli soldiers has been killed by an air strike in Gaza.
Aziz Salha, 43, died when his tent was hit in a shelter for displaced Palestinians — but it was not known if he was deliberately targeted.
He infamously waved his blood-soaked hands from a window in 2000 after a mob lynched and mutilated reservists Vadim Norzhich and Yosef Avrahami.
They had accidentally entered the city of Ramallah, controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
His stunt led to crowds cheering, before one of the bodies was tossed out to be beaten by the mob below.
Salha was jailed but later freed and was sent to Gaza in a 2011 prisoner swap.
The IDF said: “We will persist in eliminating Hamas terrorists and any individuals who pose a threat to Israeli civilians.”