Israeli Strikes in Damascus, Syria Claim Lives of Three Fighters Dedicated to the Regime
At least three fighters loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s regime were killed and four others were wounded in Israeli airstrikes near the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Wednesday.
The official Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported earlier that two soldiers were wounded in the night strikes. It quoted a military source as saying that the bombing targeted “certain locations in the vicinity of Damascus.”
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the targets included warehouses used by the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The non-governmental monitoring group, which has an extensive network of sources in the war-torn country, said the strikes also targeted positions of the Syrian army’s elite Fourth Division near the airport in the town of Dimas.
The Observatory said a pro-regime Syrian fighter and two pro-Iranian foreign fighters were killed in the strikes.
SANA earlier said that most of the missiles were intercepted by Syrian air defense systems, while the Observatory reported that the strike caused fires.
During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on its soil, primarily targeting Iranian-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters, as well as Syrian army positions.
While Israel rarely comments on the strikes it is launching in Syria, it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch-rival Iran to expand its presence there.
Tehran sent military “advisers” to support the Syrian army during the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people. Some Iranians stationed in Syria have been killed in Israeli strikes.
According to the Syrian Observatory, in early July, Israel launched airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions near the government-held city of Homs, killing a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The Observatory said the Israeli strikes also targeted a Syrian air defense base in Tartous governorate, and reported at least 20 Israeli raids so far this year.