SOHR: Syrian soldier killed in Israeli missile attack
Syrian air defenses were faced with an Israeli missile attack targeting the south of the country and a Syrian soldier was killed, the State News Agency (SANA) said on Thursday citing a military source.
The air defenses shot down most of the missiles and the attack caused material losses, SANA added.
Israel has organized hundreds of strikes on targets inside areas controlled by the Syrian government over the years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.
Earlier this month, the Syrian army said Israeli fighter jets fired missiles at the port of Latakia, damaging containers but leaving no casualties. The port of Latakia is a vital facility where a large part of Syrian imports are routed to the war-torn country.
In late November, Israeli missile attacks in western Homs province also left five people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In two separate Israeli attacks in October, five pro-Iran militias were killed near the Syrian capital Damascus, while nine pro-government fighters were killed near the T4 air base east of Palmyra in central Syria, the UK-based Syrian rights group said.
Israel has admitted it was targeting militia bases allied with Iran, such as the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has fighters deployed in Syria. He says he is attacking shipments of weapons believed to be destined for militias.Hezbollah is fighting alongside the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the decade-long civil war.
Israel says the Iranian presence on its northern border is a red line, justifying its strikes on installations and weapons inside Syria.
SOURCE: The New Zealand Times