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Beirut (AFP)
At least five Syrian soldiers and 11 fighters from pro-Iranian factions were killed in raids launched early Wednesday by Israeli warplanes against weapons warehouses and military sites in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The observatory said the Israeli Air Force “launched more than 18 airstrikes in the area stretching from the city of Deir Ezzor to the Syrian-Iraqi border in the Albu Kamal desert.”
“So far, there are 16 dead: five from the Syrian army and 11 from pro-Iranian militias,” added the British-based observatory, but has an extensive network of sources in Syria.
The Observatory noted that the raids “resulted in the destruction of weapons depots”, noting that the attacked sites are “militias of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the Lebanese Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun” and that these militias take from these sites “training centers and preparation of combatants “.
For its part, the official Syrian news agency “SANA” said: “After midnight, the Israeli enemy launched an air attack against the city of Deir Ezzor and the Albu Kamal area in the southeastern countryside of the governorate.”
The agency quoted a military source as saying that in the early hours of Wednesday at 1:10 pm (Tuesday 23:10 GMT), “the Israeli enemy carried out an air assault on the city of Deir Ezzor and the area of Al- Bukamal, and the results of the attack are currently being verified. “
Israel has launched hundreds of air and missile strikes against Syria since the outbreak of civil war in its northern neighbor in 2011, and these strikes have targeted sites by the Syrian army and other Iranian forces and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
In a rare report, the Israeli military said two weeks ago that during the year 2020, it had bombed about 50 targets in Syria.
The Israeli army’s annual report did not provide details of the targets that were bombed, but since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, the Hebrew state has launched hundreds of attacks against regular Syrian forces, the Iranian forces supporting them, and fighters. Hezbollah Lebanese fighting alongside regime forces.
Israel pledged to continue to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in its northern neighbor.
The war in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions of people since 2011.
© 2021 AFP
