Israel hits back after Syrian anti-aircraft missile lands near nuclear reactor

A SYRIAN anti-aircraft missile has landed in southern Israel, setting off air raid sirens near the country’s top-secret nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said.

Israel said it responded with an attack on the missile launcher and air-defence systems in neighbouring Syria, but media later described the Syrian missile as an “errant” projectile, not a deliberate attack.

In recent years, Israel has repeatedly launched air strikes at Syria, including at military targets linked to Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, both allies of Syrian president Bashar Assad.

Such strikes routinely draw Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Yesterday’s exchange was unusual because the Syrian projectile landed deep inside Israel.

Syria’s state news agency Sana said the exchange began with an Israeli air strike on Dumeir, a suburb of the capital of Damascus which is believed to house Syrian army installations and batteries as well as bases and weapons depots belonging to Iran-backed militias. Sana said four soldiers were wounded.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group, said the Israeli strikes hit an air defence base belonging to the Syrian military and destroyed air defence batteries in the area. It said the Syrian military fired surface-to-air missiles in response. Syrian media made no mention of an anti-aircraft missile landing deep inside Israel.

The Israeli military described the projectile that landed near the nuclear site as a surface-to-air missile, which is usually used for air defence against warplanes or other missiles.

That could suggest the Syrian missile had targeted Israeli planes but missed and flew off errantly.

However, Dimona, the Negev desert town where Israel’s nuclear reactor is located, is 185 miles south of Damascus, a long range for an errantly fired surface-to-air missile.

The Israeli army said it deployed a missile defence system but could not confirm if the incoming missile was intercepted, though it said there had been no damage.

Air raid sirens were sounded in Abu Krinat, a village a few miles from Dimona. Explosions heard across Israel might have been the air defence systems.