Syrian President Bashar al-Assad waving to an admiring crowd. Photo: Syrianpresidency Instagram account.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has begun to move his arsenal of advanced weapons underground in preparation for a possible strike on the country by the United States, Israel’s Channel 1o reported on Wednesday.

Since learning of U.S. President Obama’s desire to attack Syria, Assad ‘s forces have begun to move the weapons, including possibly chemical warheads, into underground bunkers. The process was accelerated when Damascus realized that the U.S. strike would not be a surprise and in fact would be delayed by a Congressional vote, Channel 10 said.

The underground facilities are similar to those built by Iran near the city of Qom in order to protect its nuclear facilities against attacks. This similarity is not coincidental. Most of the underground  facilities in Syria were built by Iran and North Korea.

Reports also surfaced recently that the regime is methodically placing prisoners in areas seen as being likely targets of the U.S. military.

The army has also reportedly been moving into populated areas so as to deter U.S. strikes and increase civilian casualties in the event of a strike.