A presumed Israeli airstrike killed 16 Iran-backed fighters in eastern Syria late Wednesday, a Syrian opposition-linked group said.
Syrian state media reported that Israel conducted an attack on the T-4 air base near Palmyra at 10:23 p.m. Wednesday, firing a number of missiles from the US-controlled al-Tanf region of eastern Syria near the Iraq border.
The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on the reported strikes, in accordance with its policy.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Thursday said the apparent Israeli attack also targeted sites outside the cities of Mayadeen and Bukamal, areas that have long been suspected of having an Iranian presence.
According to the Observatory, the 16 slain militants were “Iraqi paramilitary fighters loyal to Iran,” seven of which were killed outside Mayadeen and nine near Bukamal.
Neither Syrian state media SANA nor other outlets in the country reported strikes in those areas on Wednesday night, and The Times of Israel could not independently verify the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ claims.
SANA reported only on the attack on the T-4 base, also known as Tiyas base, which it said caused damage, but no casualties.
The Israeli military has long maintained that the T-4 base is used by Iran to move weapons throughout the region, including to the powerful Hezbollah terror group, and to conduct its own operations. In February 2018, the IDF said Iranian forces based there piloted an armed drone into Israeli airspace before it was shot down by an Israeli helicopter. At the time, the IDF bombed the command-and-control structure on the T-4 base from which the drone was operated.
The reported strikes on Wednesday night came two days after Israel wassaid to have launched missiles at targets in Syria’s south, killing at least two Syrian soldiers. A Syrian civilian woman was also reportedly killed when a Syrian military anti-aircraft missile struck her home.
No comments:
Post a Comment