Syrian Air Defenses Intercept ‘Hostile’ Targets Over Damascus
Sputnik News – Syrian air defenses intercepted “hostile” targets late Monday over the capital city of Damascus following airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to state media reports from the Syrian Arab News Agency.
According to the IDF, the strikes were in response to an attempted attack along Israel’s border with Syria. The IDF targeted Syrian army observation posts, intelligence-gathering equipment, anti-aircraft cannons and command-and-control infrastructure.
The targets appear to have been headed to the Al-Kiswah region located in the Rif Dimashq Governorate in Syria. Israeli helicopters also attacked the Qahtaniyah district in northeastern Syria.
According to a statement issued by the Syrian Armed Forces, Israeli strikes caused a variety of “material damage” to targeted Syrian positions.
The Israeli government on Monday said that it thwarted an attempt by Syria to plant explosive devices in the Golan Heights along the border with Syria.
“The [IDF] holds the Syrian regime responsible for all events on Syrian soil and will not tolerate any violation of Israeli sovereignty,” reads an Israeli military statement obtained by the Washington Post. Overnight on Sunday, Israel also said that it struck targets in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after the Israeli town of Sderot was targeted by rockets. However, no injuries were reported.
Tensions along the Israel-Syria border have been high in recent weeks after an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed a senior fighter from Hezbollah, a militant group based in Lebanon.
