Israeli missiles attack Hezbollah posts in Syria – Arab sources

AUGUST 17, 2021 22:49

Explosions were heard in Quneitra, Syria at approximately 9 p.m., Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

Syrian media claimed Israel was behind the explosions.

Arab news agencies report that an Israeli missile attack targeted the Qir al-Nafl area, west of the town of Hader in the northern countryside of Quneitra. Kan reported that there were two missiles launched toward the target.

An IDF spokesperson told Russian media that Israel attacked an army post and no soldiers were killed, Kan reported.

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“We don’t comment on foreign reports,” an Israeli military spokesperson told Reuters.

According to the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, reports claim that one of the targets is a Hezbollah post, and another belongs to Iran.

The area near where UN peacekeepers maintain a longstanding ceasefire between Israel and Syria has a strong presence of Iranian-backed militias led by the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Israel has over the last two years dramatically expanded airstrikes on suspected Iranian targets in Syria to repel what it sees as a stealthy military encroachment by its regional arch-enemy.

Last week, Arab media reported an explosion on a ship at the port of Latakia, Syria.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah in Lebanon fired rockets towards northern Israel. IDF responded with airstrikes to Lebanon.

Israel says it will not allow Iran and its militias to establish a permanent military presence along its borders that would allow Hezbollah to pose a major threat to its security.