Damascus has accused Jerusalem for carrying out an aerial bombardment on a Syrian Armed Forces (SAF) airbase reportedly housing Iranian weapons cargo.
By Jonathan Hessen and Erin Viner
Significant material damage was sustained at several military sites northwest of Damascus following strikes by unidentified aircraft just after midnight on Friday.
The Saudi Al Arabiya network reported that targets included the elite Unit 4400 of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah terror group, which is believed to have come under attack by the IDF in recent years following intelligence that it has been collaborating with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Unit 190 to smuggle weapons from Iran via Syria en route to Lebanon.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the attack also hit “military logistics and equipment used to assemble Iranian-made drones near the al-Dimas military airport,” with damage also caused to radar and an airstrip.
TV7 has been able to verify attacks on the al-Dimas Airport, although unable to immediately verify contents of the targeted shipments.
While the unidentified jets retaliated for the launching of air defense systems by the SAF in attempts to intercept the incoming missiles, there were no reported injuries.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit did not confirm nor deny any involvement in the attack in response to TV7’s request for comment.
For the past several years, Israel has acknowledged mounting hundreds of attacks on Iranian-linked targets in Syria where the Islamic Republic’s forces and proxy terror groups including Lebanon’s Hezbollah have become entrenched in deployments aimed at attacking Israel while assisting President Bashar al-Assad battle insurgents in the Syrian Civil War which erupted in 2011.
While the Jewish State rarely confirms such missions, the country’s political and defense leaders have repeatedly stated that Iran’s presence just over the northern frontier will not be tolerated.