Syria accuses Israel of attack
Israeli missiles targeted the countryside around Damascus late on Thursday, the Syrian military claimed, adding that some of the projectiles were intercepted by the country’s air defenses. The rockets allegedly came from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, and caused material damage but no casualties.
The attack came around 11:20pm local time, and targeted the western Damascus governorate, a Syrian military spokesman told the SANA news agency. Syrian air defenses “confronted the [hostile] missiles and shot down some of them,” the military added, noting that the missiles that got through caused property damage but no injuries or deaths.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not comment on the Syrian claims. Residents of northern Israel told local media they had seen increased activity by Israeli warplanes.
Thursday evening’s strikes took place just five days after another attack which allegedly came from Lebanese airspace.
Tel Aviv frequently launches missile attacks into Syrian territory. On the rare occasions that the Israeli government officially acknowledges the strikes, they are said to be conducted in self-defense against Iranian personnel in Syria. Damascus has condemned the incidents as acts of aggression and violations of Syrian sovereignty.
Iran and the Shia Hezbollah militia have both backed the Syrian government against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and Turkish-backed jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda, which have sought to overthrow the government in Damascus since 2011.
