Several Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Quds Force, Syrian Army Targets

AP file photo of an Israeli warplane
AP file photo of an Israeli warplane
TT

Several Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Quds Force, Syrian Army Targets

AP file photo of an Israeli warplane
AP file photo of an Israeli warplane

Israel launched airstrikes on Syria Wednesday, killing three troops and hitting Iranian targets in what the Israeli army called a retaliatory attack after it found explosive devices along its northern border.

A Syrian war monitoring group said the strikes killed 10, including the three Syrian soldiers and at least five Iranians.

An Israeli military statement said its fighter jets hit "military targets belonging to the Iranian Quds force and the Syrian Armed Forces," in overnight strikes.

The targets included "storage facilities, headquarters and military compounds" as well as "Syrian surface-to-air missile batteries", according to an army statement.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the strikes killed three of its soldiers and injured another.

On Tuesday, Israel's military said it had discovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on its side of a border crossing point with Syria.

Israel and Syria have a border along the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Six Day War.

According to the Israeli military statement, the IEDs "were placed by a Syrian squad led by Iranian forces."

Israel's army said it "holds the Syrian regime responsible for all the actions perpetrated from its territory and will continue to operate as necessary against the Iranian entrenchment in Syria."

The airstrikes came hours before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to land in Israel for talks including on Iran, in what is likely to be his last visit to the staunch American ally before President Donald Trump leaves office.

Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran has included sanctions and scrapping of the nuclear deal agreed between Tehran and world powers during Barack Obama's presidency.



UN Chief Says Israeli Strikes in Yemen, Including at Airport, are Alarming

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
TT

UN Chief Says Israeli Strikes in Yemen, Including at Airport, are Alarming

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a joint statement with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (not pictured), in Sao Bento Palace, Lisbon, Portugal, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo

The spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned escalations between Israel and Yemen, saying Israel's airstrikes on Yemen's Sanaa International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations were alarming, Reuters reported.

Israel said it struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, including Sanaa International Airport, and Houthi media said at least six people were killed.

"Israeli airstrikes today on Sanaa International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming," the UN chief's spokesperson said in a press briefing while expressing concerns about the risk of further regional escalation.