Syria says two wounded in Israeli air strikes

DAMASCUS — Syria said Thursday that two civilians were wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes on the western Hama and Tartus regions, state news agency SANA reported.

"Around 16:15 GMT, our air defenses faced an Israeli attack coming from the sea, in the southwest of the Tartus area," SANA said, reporting that most of the missiles fired had been intercepted.

It said two civilians were wounded in the strikes and reported several fires. 

Earlier, the news agency had reported that Syrian air defenses were "facing enemy targets in the sky" in Massyaf in the Hama region.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted Iranian-aligned militia, causing "several casualties."

"Israeli strikes targeted positions and depots of arms and ammunition of Iran-affiliated militias," said the Britain-based war monitor, which has an extensive network of sources inside Syria.

It reported multiple heavy explosions that sparked fires and resulted in "several victims." A Syrian air force officer is also reported missing, it said.

There was no immediate response from Israel.

Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbor, targeting government troops, allied Iran-backed forces, and Hezbollah fighters.

While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of them.

The Israeli military has defended them as necessary to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep.

At the same time, the US military said Thursday it had killed four members of armed groups linked to Iran in 24 hours in Syria after rocket attacks wounded US troops in the area.

Tehran on Wednesday denied any link with the groups targeted by the US strikes in Syria.

Iran denies deploying regular troops to Syria but says its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has "military advisers" with government forces.

The strikes come as parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal build momentum toward bringing back the landmark agreement.

The conflict in Syria started with the brutal repression of peaceful protests and escalated to pull in foreign powers. 

The war has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes. اضافة اعلان

 

 

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