DAMASCUS: A war monitor reported that Israeli air attacks on Thursday targeted sites held by Iran-backed forces near Damascus, killing at least six pro-government combatants, including from the Syrian army.
Israeli strikes have been reported inside Syria for the fourth time this month, as part of a campaign targeting pro-Iranian forces supporting the Damascus regime in more than a decade-long civil war.
“Israeli attacks killed six persons, including two Syrian soldiers and four Iranian-backed militia members whose nationalities are unknown,” according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The raids “targeted sites and arms stores” operated by Iran-backed militias near Damascus airport, according to the Britain-based monitor, which has an extensive network of contacts in Syria.
As per the Observatory, the strikes also targeted air defences south of Damascus, however, no damage was reported.
The strike occurred about 1:10 a.m., according to Syrian official media.
Air defences intercepted most of the missiles, according to the official SANA news agency, but three troops were killed.
The new raids come after Israel bombed a Syrian village near the Golan Heights’ armistice line this week, as well as strikes on a Syrian military base on February 17 and on anti-aircraft batteries at the start of the month.
Israel has carried out operations in Syria at least six times since the beginning of the year, according to the Observatory.
“We don’t comment on reports in international media,” an Israeli army official stated when asked about the recent strikes.
Since the civil war in Syria broke out in 2011, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes within the nation, hitting government sites as well as allied Iran-backed troops and Hezbollah soldiers.
While Israel seldom discusses specific strikes in Syria, it has acknowledged that there have been hundreds since 2011.
In 2020, the Israeli military claimed to have targeted roughly 50 sites inside Syria.
According to the Observatory, Israel struck Syria 30 times last year, killing 130 people – five civilians and 125 loyalist fighters.
It launched its first strike on the port of Latakia since the civil war began in December, targeting an Iranian arms shipment in the stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority sect.
The Israeli military has justified the strikes as vital to prevent Iran from acquiring a foothold on Israel’s southern border.
Major General Aharon Haliva, Israel’s head of military intelligence, has accused Iran of “continuing to encourage subversion and violence” in the Middle East.
