According to regional intelligence and Syrian military sources, Israel attacked Iranian IRGC targets in a series of attacks yesterday near Syrian President Bashar Al-ancestral Assad’s home region and close to Russia’s main Syrian outposts on the Mediterranean coast.
The Syrian army previously stated that three personnel were killed and three were injured in two simultaneous Israeli attacks south of Tartous and one on Damascus. It provided no information about the precise places.
According to two Syrian military defectors familiar with the region, the strikes on the north-eastern outskirts of Damascus targeted outposts maintained by Lebanon’s and Iranian IRGC-Hezbollah militia.
On the condition of anonymity, a Syrian army soldier in the Tartous coastal region told Reuters that an Iranian base near the village of Abu Afsa, south of the port city, was struck, as was an air defence and radar station nearby.
In recent years, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes against suspected Iranian IRGC targets but has mainly avoided attacking the coastal provinces where Russia’s main military assets are concentrated.
According to Israeli and regional military experts, the current strikes are part of an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict aimed at slowing Iran’s expanding entrenchment in Syria.
The strikes occurred near the Russian navy’s lone Mediterranean station in Tartous, where Russian warships are docked, as well as Moscow’s key Hmeimim air base in nearby Latakia province.
Russia’s assistance, along with Iran’s, aided in turning the tide in favour of Al-Assad in a struggle that has lasted more than a decade.
Last month, Israel reported its fighter jets came under Russian anti-aircraft fire over Syria in May but missed their target, describing the occurrence as a “one-time incident.”
Syria blamed Israel for devastating strikes on its main international airport in Damascus last June, which severely damaged runways and prompted flights to be halted for many weeks.
According to Israeli defence authorities, Iran has frequently utilised the civilian airport to move weapons and militias.