Syria accuses Israel of air-strike near Damascus

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Syria has accused Israel of conducting a pre-dawn airstrike on a military airfield near Damascus on Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least four Iranian militants and three civilians were killed, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Israeli jets were in Lebanese airspace when they launched several missiles in the early hours of Monday morning. SANA said the civilian deaths and injuries to four other civilians, including a child, were caused by shrapnel when Israeli missiles hit homes in the towns of Al-Hujaira and Al-Adliya in the Damascus area.

According to SOHR, however, it was not certain whether the shrapnel came from Israeli missiles or from Syrian air defense systems that were engaged to intercept and shoot the missiles down.

Israel does not usually respond to such accusations, which are frequently made by Syria: on April 21, SANA reported that a number of “enemy missiles” were shot down in what it described as a “failed” Israeli attack. Concerning that attack, SOHR said at least nine Iranian militants and members of the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist group were killed in the alleged Israeli airstrike on Syria on Monday night.

Although Israel has not commented on the latest strike, Israeli officials have made clear their concern that Iran is establishing itself as a permanent fixture along Syria’s northern border with Israel: aside from its support of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, the Iranian leadership has said it wants to “annihilate” Israel. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett had repeated in a statement that Israel “will not allow the establishment of an advanced Iranian base in Syria.”

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