Syria: Israel bombs sites near Iraqi border in area with large Iranian presence

Israeli airstrikes after midnight Tuesday targeted a number of sites near the Iraqi border, an area believed to have a large Iranian military presence, Syrian media reported.

They were the fourth reported attacks by Israel against Iranian targets in Syria in the past two weeks, a significant increase from the normal rate of such strikes.

According to Syria’s official SANA news agency, the strikes hit the areas of Boukamal and Deir Ezzor, which have a major presence of Iranian-backed militias.

SANA said officials were assessing if any damage or casualties were caused.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-Syrian opposition organization, said that Israel bombed at least 18 bases and storehouses used by pro-Iranian militias and terror groups.

The Observatory said that 23 were killed in the strikes, seven of them Syrian soldiers and the rest “militia fighters allied with Iran.” That claim could not be verified and was not reported by official sources in Syria. The Observatory has regularly been accused by Syrian war analysts of inflating casualty numbers, as well as inventing them wholesale.

#Israel-i attack on #IRGC Quds Force positions in #Syria

Fatimid warehouse, Nasr Al-Irani Center on Port Saeed Street in #DeirEzZor were targeted. #Iraq-i #Hezbollah positions near #AlBukmal border area were also targeted. 5-20 deaths reported on pro-israeli media. pic.twitter.com/PrNSvWEXUt

— Ahmad (@_ahmadalhindi) January 13, 2021
The Israel Defense Forces had no comment on the late-night strikes, in accordance with its policy to neither confirm nor deny its operations in Syria, save for those in retaliation for an attack from the country.

The area targeted has reportedly been repeatedly struck by Israel in recent years as it houses a number of bases used by Iranian-backed groups and is key to a land corridor for Tehran that links Iran across Iraq and Syria through Lebanon, which Iran uses to smuggle in weapons and rockets, mainly to the Hezbollah terror group.

The strike comes after reports last week that Israeli jets hit targets near Damascus.

The IDF has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 against moves by Iran to establish a permanent military presence in the country and efforts to transport advanced, game-changing weapons to terrorist groups in the region, principally Hezbollah.