Syria has activated its air defence on Monday night to deal with raids in the south of the country which have been claimed by Israel. “A 22: 40 today (19h40 GMT), helicopters of the israeli enemy launched burst rockets on some of our positions (…) to Qouneitra,” said the official news agency, syrian Sana, citing a military source, who reported only “property damage”.
The syrian Observatory of Human rights (OSDH) also reported on the “israeli raids” on the province of Qouneitra, without being able to specify if the strikes have killed syrian soldiers or combatants allies. The town of Boukamal, in the north-east of the country near the iraqi border, was also targeted by missiles in israel, told Agence France-Presse, the director of the OSDH, Rami Abdel Rahmane.
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Israel speaks of “retaliation”
rare, Israel has claimed responsibility for the strikes, in retaliation for “attempts” to place pipe bombs along its disputed frontier with Syria. “In response (in this attempt), the jet fighters, helicopters, attacks and more aircraft of the israeli armed forces struck military targets in southern Syria belonging to the syrian armed forces,” announced in a press release the israeli army.
Since the beginning in 2011 the conflict in Syria, Israel has conducted numerous raids against the forces of the regime but also against its allies, Iran and Hezbollah, enemies of the jewish State. On 20 July, five fighters pro-Iran, including a member of lebanese Hezbollah, were killed in israeli strikes in the south of Damascus, according to OSDH, who has reported eleven wounded among which seven syrian soldiers.
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The Hebrew State, which confirms rarely its operations in Syria, says regularly that he will not let Syria become the bridgehead of Tehran. The strikes attributed to Israel or claimed by the israeli army aimed regularly in Syria to the positions where are stationed the forces, iranian or Hizbullah fighters, sometimes of the dead. Triggered by the repression of protests, pro-democracy, the conflict in Syria has become more complicated with the intervention of many foreign actors. He made more than 380 000 people dead.
