ISRAEL STRIKES IRANIAN-LINKED TARGETS IN SYRIA

AMMAN Israel launched an air attack against Iranian-linked targets in Syria near the main border crossing to Iraq early Wednesday.

Israel has been stepping up strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, part of aggressive posture adopted before president-elect Joe Biden takes office next week in what could bring a reassessment of Donald Trump's “maximum pressure” policy on Iran.

Syrian news agency SANA and Syrian state media said Israel had struck sites in Al Bukamal, the Syrian city that controls the border checkpoint on the main Baghdad-Damascus highway. The highway is part of a supply route linking Iran to proxy fighters in Syria and Lebanon.

The reports also said Israeli strikes hit areas in Deir al Zor province, where Iranian-backed militias and Iran's Revolutionary Guards have a heavy presence.

Tzachi Hanegbi, an Israeli government minister, told Israeli radio he would not discuss the specific reports, but that Israel hit Iranian targets in Syria “whenever our intelligence dictates it and according to our operational capability.”