Syria
Syrian air defenses respond to Israeli missiles targeting south of the capital Damascus in a strike on July 20, 2020. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Israeli missile strikes on Tuesday targeted positions of the Syrian army in the capital Damascus, state media reported, while a war monitor said the strikes targeted pro-Iran weapons depots in the city.
“At approximately 2:10 am today, the Israeli enemy launched airstrikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of military points in the Damascus countryside,” Syria’s state SANA news agency said, citing a military source.
It added that Syrian air defense systems “responded to the aggression’s missiles and shot down some of them” and that the strikes inflicted material damages.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the strikes targeted weapons depots of Lebanon’s pro-Iran Hezbollah group in Yabroud, 80 kilometers north of Damascus.
“There were deaths and injuries, and the regime’s air defense tried to engage the Israeli missiles but was unsuccessful in preventing them from achieving their goals,” the monitor said.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its 12-year civil war, often claiming to strike pro-Iran militias such as Hezbollah that support the Syrian army.
While it rarely comments on strikes attributed to it in Syria, Israel has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate its arch-rival Iran to gain a foothold there.
The Golan Heights were previously controlled by Syria but were seized by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981, although their annexation has not been recognized by most of the international community.
On Sunday, Israeli missile strikes in the Damascus countryside injured at least one Syrian soldier and inflicted material damages.
“At approximately 2:10 am today, the Israeli enemy launched airstrikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of military points in the Damascus countryside,” Syria’s state SANA news agency said, citing a military source.
It added that Syrian air defense systems “responded to the aggression’s missiles and shot down some of them” and that the strikes inflicted material damages.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the strikes targeted weapons depots of Lebanon’s pro-Iran Hezbollah group in Yabroud, 80 kilometers north of Damascus.
“There were deaths and injuries, and the regime’s air defense tried to engage the Israeli missiles but was unsuccessful in preventing them from achieving their goals,” the monitor said.
Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its 12-year civil war, often claiming to strike pro-Iran militias such as Hezbollah that support the Syrian army.
While it rarely comments on strikes attributed to it in Syria, Israel has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate its arch-rival Iran to gain a foothold there.
The Golan Heights were previously controlled by Syria but were seized by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981, although their annexation has not been recognized by most of the international community.
On Sunday, Israeli missile strikes in the Damascus countryside injured at least one Syrian soldier and inflicted material damages.
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