Syria using more accurate, Iranian-made missiles

The Syrian regime this week fired at least two Iranian-made, short-range ballistic missiles in what appears to be an effort to more precisely target Syrian rebels.

The Fateh A-110 missiles are more accurate than the older Scud variants that Syrian government forces have used in recent weeks.

The U.S. military officials declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information. The Iranian government has not commented on the issue.

The Fateh trades range for accuracy. It can travel about 125 miles, while the Scud can go about 185 miles. But the Fateh has a "circular error probable" or -- CEP -- of 330 feet, while the Scud's CEP is 1,480 feet. CEP is defined as the radius of a circle in which half of a missile's lethal payload falls and is the standard measure of a missile's accuracy.

The firings did not reach near Syria's Turkish border. But the regime's use of ballistic missiles is the reason NATO is planning to send U.S., German and Dutch Patriot missile batteries to Turkish military installations: to protect the southern regions of that NATO ally. All six Patriot batteries are expected to be in place by the end of January.

A NATO official could not confirm the use of short-range ballistic missiles this week, but NATO did detect the launch of such missiles inside Syria on a few December days, more recently on the 22nd.