Israel makes rare admission of striking Iranian forces in Syria
Israel makes rare admission of striking Iranian forces in Syria
Israel took the unusual move on Monday of announcing an attack on Iranian-linked forces in Syria, as it enters into an increasingly open confrontation with its arch-foe.
The early morning strikes, which hit targets including a training camp, munitions storage depots and a site at the Damascus International Airport, followed a day of escalation on Sunday.
Damascus and Moscow had accused Israel of carrying out a rare daylight attack on Sunday morning, after which Israel said a rocket was fired at its territory.
“The IDF is currently striking Iranian Quds targets in Syrian territory,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement, referring to the elite branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. “The IDF warns the Syrian Armed Forces against attempting to harm Israeli territory or forces.”
The military said the announcement was made just as its planes took off. The Israeli strike killed four Syrian servicemen, Russian news agency Interfax reported citing the Russian National Defense Control Center. Syrian air defenses shot down over 30 Israeli missiles, it added.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, said that the Israeli strikes were in response to Sunday’s rocket attack, which was a mid-range Iranian-operated surface-to-surface missile fired from the vicinity of Damascus, in an area that Israel had received “assurances” no Iranian forces would be present.
Israel’s military has confirmed strikes before, including directly after shooting down an unmanned armed drone in April which it said was operated by Iran, and after a wave of strikes in May which Israel also said was in response to Iranian rocket fire.
It has largely remained ambiguous in attacks where it has gone on the offensive, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the unusual move earlier this month of confirming another strike in Syria. He also admitted to Israel striking “hundreds” of targets in Syria, as Israel appeared to be relaxing its previous policy of not confirming or denying raids.
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Read More: Washington Post
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