Missile strikes kill 9 militia fighters in Syria
AMMAN: Syria’s army said on Monday the country’s air defences had intercepted “Israeli aggression” over the capital, Damascus, in the latest stepped-up bombing of Iranian targets inside the country over the last two months.
Israeli missile strikes against several targets near Damascus killed at least nine pro-regime militia fighters early on Monday, a Britain-based war monitor said
The Israeli military, which just began a surprise air force combat drill along the country’s northern border, said “it did not comment on foreign reports,” according to a spokeswoman.
Syrian state media did not give details of what was hit by the Israeli air force. Israeli military planes flew over the Golan Heights to hit targets on the edge of the capital, an army statement said.
“Our air defences are continuing to repel the Israeli missile atacks over the skies of the capital,” the Syrian army said in a statement.
A Syrian military defector said the bombing raids hit a major army division in the town of Kiswa, almost 14 km south of the capital, in a sprawling area where Iranian-backed militias have a dominant presence.
Witnesses heard large explosions on the southern edge of Damascus, an area where Iranian-backed militias are entrenched, residents said.
Israeli officials have acknowledged carrying out atacks inside Syria aimed at ending Tehran’s entrenched military presence in Syria.
Military chief of staff Aviv Kochavi said at the end of last year that Israeli missile strikes had “slowed down Iran’s entrenchment in Syria,” hiting more than 500 targets in 2020.
The army said on Monday that during the surprise drill, which will last until Wednesday, there would be an increase of air traffic throughout the country and that explosions could be heard in northern Israel.
It said the “exercise simulates combat scenarios in the northern front, and will test all components in the (air force’s) core missions, including maintaining aerial superiority, protecting the country’s skies, as well as atacking and gathering intelligence.”
Western intelligence sources say Iran’s military influence has expanded in Syria in recent years, prompting Israel to escalate its campaign to prevent its arch rival from establishing a major military foothold along its border.