(Damascus) Three Syrian soldiers were killed and seven others injured in an Israeli airstrike near Damascus, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced overnight from Thursday to Friday.
Posted at 7:55 p.m.
“The Israeli enemy carried out an air raid […] from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan,” the ministry said in a statement. “This attack killed three soldiers and injured seven others,” he added.
Syrian air defense intercepted several of the missiles launched, the statement said.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the raid left a total of six dead and ten injured.
The organization, which relies on an extensive network of sources inside Syria, said the strikes targeted an air force intelligence facility and the office of a high-ranking officer. .
The missiles also destroyed an “Iranian arms depot”, according to the Observatory.
Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against its neighbor, targeting the regular army as well as fighters from Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups.
Israel rarely confirms these strikes one by one, but has admitted carrying out hundreds. The Israeli army says the raids are necessary to prevent Iran, its sworn enemy, from establishing a permanent foothold near the Jewish state’s borders.
Last month, Israeli strikes on Damascus International Airport rendered its runways unusable for weeks. Israel claimed to have targeted Iranian and Hezbollah ammunition depots.