Israeli strikes kill 11 fighters in Syria

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army carried out a “wide-scale” attack against Iranian forces and Syrian army targets in Syria on Wednesday, killing at least 11 fighters, the Israeli army and a monitoring group said.

In a rare confirmation of their operations in Syria, the Israeli army said they carried out dozens of strikes against the Iranian elite Quds Force and the Syrian military, in response to four rockets fired at Israel a day before.

Iran has fought alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in the country’s eight-year civil war, heightening Israeli concern over the presence of its arch foe along its border.

The Israeli army said they had targeted around a dozen military sites, including warehouses and military command centres. The most important target, was a control facility at the main international airport in Damascus.Israel has carried out frequent air and missile strikes against Iranian targets inside Syria since the country descended into civil war in 2011, but rarely comments on them.

On Tuesday four rockets were fired at Israel from Syria, with the army blaming an “Iranian force”.Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted the rockets.Syria’s state media SANA said Syrian anti-aircraft defences responded to a “heavy attack” by Israeli warplanes over the capital.

The Israeli army confirmed missiles were fired towards its jets but denied any were hit.SANA added that the strikes were carried out from “Lebanese and Palestinian territories”. Israel sometimes launches its attacks on Syria from planes flying over neighbouring Lebanon.