Russia Confirms Israel’s Bombing of Iranian Stronghold in Syria

Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria, May 10, 2018. (Reuters)
Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria, May 10, 2018. (Reuters)
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Russia Confirms Israel’s Bombing of Iranian Stronghold in Syria

Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria, May 10, 2018. (Reuters)
Missile fire is seen from Damascus, Syria, May 10, 2018. (Reuters)

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Syrian air defense forces thwarted, at dawn on Sunday, a strike carried out by two Israeli fighters against the Sayeda Zainab area, south of Damascus, which is known as the stronghold of Iran and its militias in Syria.

General Vadim Kulit, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, told the Russian news agency TASS that two Israeli fighter jets were intercepted while attacking targets near Damascus early Sunday.

“From 05:40 am to 05:54 am, two F-16 tactical fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force, which stayed outside Syria’s airspace, delivered a strike, from the southwestern direction, with two guided missiles at facilities in the settlement of Sayeda Zainab in the Damascus governorate,” he said, adding that both missiles were downed by the Russian-made Buk-M2E systems of the Syria air defense units.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, for its part, that a violent explosion hit separate areas of the Syrian capital, adding that the people heard the sound of a strong explosion and a cloud of smoke was seen in the air.

This is the third attempt by the Israeli forces to launch an air strike on Syrian territory this week. On July 19, Israeli warplanes launched eight missiles at sites in the Aleppo governorate, and on July 22, four missiles hit facilities in Homs.

Meanwhile, concerns mounted among the residents of the Druze-dominated Suweida region in southern Syria due to a leaked government document that spoke of an imminent ISIS attack as military reinforcements were being brought in to neighboring Daraa.

Activists in the region leaked a document by the Damascus police chief and addressed to the Syrian Minister of Interior, speaking of ISIS plans to infiltrate deep into Suweida to carry out terrorist operations.



Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
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Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and wounding several others, including Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers, Lebanon’s state news agency and the army said.

The Lebanese army said in a communique that three soldiers and four Malaysian peacekeepers were injured.

The National News Agency said one of the wounded was taken to the hospital while the peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the attack at the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city. There was no immediate information on the identities of those who died.

The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said in a statement that a convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing by when a drone strike took place near it. The strike lightly injured five peacekeepers, it said.
“We remind all actors of their obligation to avoid actions putting peacekeepers or civilians in danger. Differences should be resolved at the negotiating table, not through violence,” the statement said.

A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut, killing one woman, according to local media.

The attack took place near Araya, where several similar drone strikes have taken place in the past week.