World Jewish News

In November, the BBC reported that it had been told by a western intelligence source that Iran is establishing a permanent military base on a Syrian Army compound.

Israel strikes Iranian targets near Damascus

The Israel Air Force struck strategic targets near the Syrian capital of Damascus overnight Friday, according to reports in Arab media.

The pro-Syrian regime Al-Masdar News said the IAF fired several missiles at an ammunition storage site belonging to what it said was the “1st Division.”

Al-Masdar quoted military sources as saying the IAF had fired several missiles at the site. The report claimed that some of the missiles had been intercepted by Syrian air defenses. Al-Masdar posted a video that it claimed showed an intercept of an Israeli missile.

Al-Masdar reported loud explosions between the towns of Kesweh and Sahnaya.

However Sky News Arabia said that the target of the strike had in fact been an Iranian base under construction in the Keswah area south of Damascus. Sky News said the strike had been conducted with air-to-surface missiles from Lebanese airspace.

In November, the BBC reported that it had been told by a western intelligence source that Iran is establishing a permanent military base on a Syrian Army compound. The BBC published what it said were satellite images that it had commissioned that showed construction activity at the site between January and October this year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that Israel will not allow Iran to establish a military presence near its borders. Hadashot News reported November 26, that Netanyahu had warned Syrian President Bashar Assad via a third party that Israel would intervene against him in the Syrian civil war if he allowed Iran to establish a military presence in the country.

EJP